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ART  IN  CALIFORNIA 


ART  IN  CALIFORNIA 


A  SURVEY  OF  AMERICAN  ART  WITH  SPECIAL 
REFERENCE  TO  CALIFORNIAN  PAINTING 
SCULPTURE  AND  ARCHITECTURE  PAST  AND 
PRESENT  PARTICULARLY  AS  THOSE  ARTS 
WERE  REPRESENTED  AT  THE  PANAMA- 
PACIFIC   INTERNATIONAL  EXPOSITION 


Being  Essays  and  Articles  by 
the  Following  Contributors : 


BRUCE  PORTER  EVERETT  MAXWELL  PORTER  GARNETT 

HECTOR  ALLIOT  MICHAEL  WILLIAMS 

ANTONY  ANDERSON         ALMA  MAY  COOK         WILLIS  POLK 
JOHN  E.  D.  TRASK         A.  B.  CLARK 
JOHN  McLURE  HAMILTON 
JOHN  I.  WALTER  ROBERT  B.  HARSHE 

MABEL  URMY  SEARES  PEDRO  J.  LEMOS  HILL  TOLERTON 

HAMILTON  WRIGHT  JOHN  McLAREN 

A.  STIRLING  CALDER  LOUIS  CHRISTIAN  MULLGARDT 

BERNARD  R.  MAYBECK 


SAN  FRANCISCO 
R.  L.  BERNIER,  PUBLISHER 
1916 


Copyright  1916 
By  R.  L.  Bernier 
San  Francisco 


INTRODUCTION 


HE  CHARACTER  of  the  present  volume  is  accurately  stated  in  its 


sub-title,  "A  survey  of  American  art,  with  special  reference  to 


Californian  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture,  past  and  present, 
particularly  as  those  arts  were  represented  at  the  Panama-Pacific  Inter- 
national Exposition."  While  dealing  broadly  with  certain  aspects  of  art 
in  America,  the  work  presents  the  first  comprehensive  record  of  the 
phenomena  of  Californian  art,  and  offers  at  the  same  time,  in  a  series 
of  essays  and  articles  by  well-known  writers,  an  historical  and  critical 
examination  of  these  phenomena. 

Works  dealing — as  this  work  deals  in  its  main  features — with  the  art 
of  a  particular  locality  are  not  infrequently  open  to  the  charge  of  spe- 
cial pleading.  In  "Art  in  California"  an  effort  has  been  made  to  avoid 
the  sentimental  approach,  which,  it  is  felt,  would  impair  its  value  as  a 
record  and  an  appraisement,  and  to  present  a  body  of  critical  opinion 
from  which,  it  is  hoped,  an  approximation  of  ultimate  values  will 
emerge. 

The  publishers  feel  that  the  work  finds  its  justification  in  Califor- 
nia's exceptional  productivity  in  art,  in  the  freshness  and  vitality  which 
the  work  of  her  painters,  sculptors,  and  architects  so  often  surprisingly 
displays,  and  in  the  stimulation  recently  given  to  art  in  California  by 
the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition. 

Since  contemporary  opinion  in  matters  of  art  is,  at  best,  only  a  shrewd 
presumption  of  the  verdict  of  time,  the  views  of  many  critics,  rather 
than  the  opinion  of  a  single  one,  are  here  presented.  Each  contributor 
dealing  with  Californian  art  has  treated  the  subject  in  his  own  way,  and 
the  reader  is  thus  given  the  benefit  of  the  collective  judgment  of  rec- 
ognized authorities.  Mr.  Rruce  Porter  has  traced  in  their  succession 
the  various  external  influences  that  have  contributed  to  the  evolution 
and  the  shaping  of  Californian  art;  Mr.  Michael  Williams  offers  a  com- 
prehensive and  critical  study  of  the  work  of  California's  painters  and 
sculptors;  Mr.  Porter  Garnett  essays  the  determination  of  California's 
place  in  art  upon  the  basis  of  certain  noteworthy  achievements;  while 
Mr.  Everett  Maxwell,  Mr.  Hector  Alliot,  and  others  comment  reveal- 
ingly  upon  conditions  and  performances,  upon  the  spirit  that  underlies 
them,  and  upon  their  promise  for  the  future.  The  painting,  the  sculp- 
ture, the  architecture,  and  the  landscape  gardening  of  the  Exposition 
are  dealt  with  by  men  who,  by  reason  of  their  official  and  constructive 
relations  to  that  important  enterprise,  are  best  qualified  to  speak 
authoritatively  upon  the  subject.  Still  other  articles  deal  with  etching, 
in  its  national  as  well  as  in  its  local  aspects,  with  the  institutions  that 
foster  art  in  California,  and  with  other  related  topics. 


In  order  that  it  may  fulfill,  in  the  highest  degree,  the  purpose  of  a  com- 
plete and  permanent  record,  the  pictorial  features  of  "Art  in  California" 
are  not  only  copious  but  have  been  carefully  selected  with  a  view  to 
their  quality  and  representative  character. 

The  publishers  make  grateful  acknowledgment  to  the  contributors  for 
their  generous  cooperation  and  to  the  artists  who  have  rendered  them 
invaluable  aid  by  personally  selecting  examples  of  their  work  for  repro- 
duction. Special  thanks  are  due  to  Mr.  Zoeth  S.  Eldredge  for  permission 
to  reprint  Mr.  Bruce  Porter's  article  from  "The  History  of  California," 
to  Doctor  Emil  O.  Jellinek  for  courteous  permission  to  use  his  photo- 
graphic studies  of  the  Exposition,  to  Mr.  Louis  S.  Lyons  for  his  assist- 
ance in  the  preparation  of  the  work,  and  to  many  others  for  their  helpful 
suggestions. 


NOTE  ON  THE  CONTRIBUTORS 

Mr.  George  Sterling,  whose  poem  "California  to  the  Artist"  prefaces  this  vol- 
ume, is  the  author  of  "The  Testimony  of  the  Suns,"  "A  Wine  of  Wizardry,"  and 
several  other  volumes  of  verse.  Mr.  Bruce  Porter  is  an  artist  by  profession  and 
also  a  writer  of  critical  articles.  Mr.  Everett  C.  Maxwell  is  the  curator  of  the 
Department  of  Art  of  the  Los  Angeles  Museum  of  History,  Science,  and  Art. 
Mr.  Porter  Garnett,  a  literary  and  art  critic,  is  the  author  of  "Stately  Homes  of 
California,"  "The  Green  Knight,"  etc.  Doctor  Hector  Alliot,  archselogist,  art 
critic,  lecturer,  and  educator,  is  professor  of  the  History  of  Art  in  the  University 
of  Southern  California  and  curator  of  the  Southwestern  Museum  of  Art,  Los 
Angeles,  Cal.  Mr.  Antony  Anderson  is  the  art  editor  of  the  Los  Angeles  Times. 
Miss  Alma  May  Cook,  art  critic  and  lecturer,  is  in  charge  of  the  educational 
work  of  the  California  Art  Club.  Mr.  Michael  Williams,  formerly  art  critic  on 
the  San  Francisco  Examiner,  is  author  of  "A  Brief  Guide  to  the  Palace  of  Fine 
Arts,"  etc.,  and  is  now  organizing  secretary  of  the  San  Francisco  Art  Association. 
Mr.  Willis  Polk  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  architectural  commission 
of  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition.  Mr.  John  E.  D.  Trask,  chief  of 
Department  of  Fine  Arts,  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition,  was  formerly 
secretary  and  manager  of  the  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  in  Philadelphia; 
Mr.  A.  B.  Clark  is  associate  professor  of  Graphic  Art,  Leland  Stanford  Junior 
University;  Mr.  John  I.  Walter  is  president  of  the  San  Francisco  Art  Association. 
Mr.  Robert  B.  Harshe,  curator  of  the  Oakland  Public  Museum,  was  assistant 
chief  of  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts,  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition. 
Mrs.  Mabel  Urmy  Seares,  author  of  the  "Lyric  Land  of  Sunshine,"  is  a  con- 
tributor to  The  International  Studio,  etc.  Mr.  Pedro  J.  Lemos  is  the  director  of 
the  San  Francisco  Art  Association.  Mr.  Hill  Tolerton  is  a  print  expert  and  the 
author  of  the  "Ilustrated  Catalogue  of  Etchings  by  American  Artists."  Mr.  Ham- 
ilton Wright  was  editor  in  chief  of  the  Department  of  Exploitation  of  the  Panama- 
Pacific  International  Exposition.  Mr.  John  McLaren,  Superintendent  of  Public 
Parks  and  Squares,  was  the  chief  engineer  of  landscape,  Panama-Pacific  Inter- 
national Exposition.  Mr.  A.  Stirling  Calder  was  the  acting  chief  of  sculpture  of 
the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition.  Mr.  Louis  Christian  Mullgardt, 
Fellow  of  the  American  League  of  Architects,  was  the  designer  of  the  Court  of 
Abundance,  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition,  and  is  the  author  of  "The 
Architecture  and  Landscape  of  the  Exposition."  Mr.  John  McLure  Hamilton  is 
an  artist  by  profession  and  a  writer  of  occasional  articles  on  art.  Mr.  Bernard  R. 
Maybeck  was  a  member  of  the  Architectural  Commission  and  of  the  Panama- 
Pacific  International  Exposition,  and  designer  of  the  Palace  of  Fine  Arts. 


CONTENTS 

Pages 

The  Beginning  of  Art  in  California   21-  32 

By  Bruce  Porter 

The  Structure  of  Western  Art   33-  37 

By  Everett  C.  Maxwell 

California's  Place  in  Art   39-  46 

By  Porter  Garnett 

Primitive  Art  in  Southern  California   47-  50 

By  Hector  Alliot 

The  Pageant  of  California  Art   51-  62 

By  Michael  Williams 

Six  Landscape  Painters  of  Southern  California   65-  70 

By  Antony  Anderson 

What  Art  Means  to  California   71-  76 

By  Alma  May  Cook 

A  Brilliant  Future  for  American  Art   77-  78 

By  Willis  Polk 

The  Exposition:  An  Expression  of  Artistic  Power   92-  93 

By  John  McLure  Hamilton 

The  Department  of  Fine  Arts  at  the  Panama-Pacific  Interna- 
tional Exposition   81-  91 

By  John  E.  D.  Trask 

Art  Ideals  in  California  Universities   94-  96 

By  A.  B.  Clark 

The  San  Francisco  Art  Association   97-101 

By  John  I.  Walter 

The  Oakland  Public  Museum  103-104 

By  Bobert  B.  Harshe 

William  Keith  and  His  Times  105-110 

By  Mabel  Urmy  Seares 

California  and  Its  Etchers,  What  They  Mean  to  Each  Other. . .  .113-115 
By  Pedro  J.  Lemos 

The  California  Society  of  Etchers  116-120 

By  Bobert  B.  Harshe 

Etching  and  Etchers  121-126 

By  Hill  Tolerton 


Pages 

Mural  Decorations  at  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Expo- 
sition  129-138 

By  Hamilton  M.  Wright 

California's  Opportunities  in  Artistic  Landscaping  139-142 

By  John  McLaren 

Art  Is  Praise  and  All  Things  in  Life  Are  Its  Subjects  145-149 

By  A.  Stirling  Calder 

Architecture  of  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition. .  .151-158 
By  Louis  Christian  Mullgardt 

The  Architecture  of  the  Palace  of  Fine  Arts  at  the  Panama- 
Pacific  International  Exposition  159-162 

By  Bernard  R.  Maybeck 


LIST  OF  PLATES 


Piatt  CALIFORNIAN  PAINTERS 

Number 

1  The  Ghost  Story.  Arthur  F.  Mathews. 

2  Lake  Louise.  Henry  Joseph  Breuer. 

3  Portrait  of  Isabel  P.  Betty  DeJong. 

4  Isabella  (or  Despair).  Anne  M.  Bremer. 

5  Hot  Afternoon.  Guy  Rose. 

6  Stone  Pines.  Florence  Lundborg. 

7  Mother  and  Child.  E.  Spencer  Macky. 

8  Portrait  of  Mrs.  Lentelli.  Matteo  Sandona. 

9  Little  Girls.  Henrietta  M.  Shore. 

10  The  Abyss.  Fernand  Lungren. 

11  The  Chinese  Robe.  Maren  M.  Froelich. 

12  Margaret.  Caroline  Rixford  Johnson. 

13  Portrait  of  Madame  D.  Clark  Hobart. 

14  Whispering  Love.  Jean  Mannheim. 

15  A  Portrait.  Clarence  K.  Hinkle. 

16  Temple  of  Nike  on  the  Acropolis  of  Athens.  Ferdinand  Burgdorff. 

17  Portrait  of  Mrs.  A.  Joseph  Greenbaum. 

18  What  an  Indian  Thinks.  Maynard  Dixon. 

19  Reflections.  C.  P.  Townsley. 

20  Portrait  of  Miss  D.  Henry  Varnum  Poor. 

21  Portrait  of  Mrs.  Francis  Carolan.  Herman  G.  Herkomer. 

22  West  Angora  Peak,  Lake  Tahoe.  Lorenzo  P.  Latimer. 

23  Eucalyptus  and  Clouds.  (Water  color.)  Marion  Kavanagh  Wachtel. 

24  Educational  Fountain  and  Dome  of  Fine  Arts  Palace.  (Water 

color.)  Donna  Schuster. 

25  The  Veranda  Table.  Helena  Dunlap. 

26  A  Street  in  Monterey.  Isabel  Hunter. 

27  Portrait  of  Mrs.  W.  Geneve  Rixford  Sargeant. 

28  Portrait  of  an  Actor.  Frank  J.  Van  Sloun. 

29  Eucalypti.  Guiseppe  Cadenasso. 

30  The  Rlue  Kimona.  John  Hubbard  Rich. 

31  Southern  California  Hills.  Maurice  Braun. 

32  Portrait  of  Stuart  Edward  White.  Rob  Wagner. 

33  City  of  the  Desert.  Francis  McComas. 

34  St.  Cloud.  Arthur  Atkins. 

35  Rreakfast  in  the  Arbor.  Joseph  Raphael. 

36  Portrait  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Randolph  Walker  Apperson.  Orrin  Peck. 

37  Lux  Etern^e.  Gottardo  F.  P.  Piazzoni. 

38  On  the  Quais,  Paris.  Jules  Pages. 

39  Late  Afternoon  in  the  Sierras.  Maurice  Del  Mue. 

40  A  Marine.  Bruce  Nelson. 

41  The  Pool.  E.  Charlton  Fortune. 

42  A  Potter  of  the  Pueblo:  New  Mexico.  Theodore  Wores. 

43  Late  Afternoon.  Granville  Redmond. 


Plate 
Number 

44  The  Red  Book.  William  V.  Cahill. 

45  The  Old  Red  Barn.  A.  Sheldon  Pennoyer. 

46  The  Blue  Mug.  (Water  color.)  Cora  Boone. 

47  Evening  Glow.  William  Keith. 

48  Live  Oaks  of  California.  (Water  color.)  Percy  Gray. 

49  The  Young  Mother.  Mary  Curtis  Richardson. 

50  The  Land  of  Heart's  Desire.  William  Wendt. 

51  The  Weaver.  Amadee  Joullin. 

52  The  Oregon.  Charles  Rollo  Peters. 

53  Old  Convent — Monterey.  M.  Evelyn  McCormick. 

54  Monterey  Bay.  C.  Chapel  Judson. 

55  Point  Joe — Monterey.  Eugen  Neuhaus. 

56  Majestic  Oaks.  Hansen  Puthuff. 

57  Monterey  Oak.  Lucia  K.  Mathews. 

58  From  the  Meadows  :  Moret,  France.  Calthea  Vivian. 

59  Harvest  by  the  Sea.  Benjamin  C.  Brown. 

60  Snowy  Solitude.  Elmer  Wachtel. 

61  Le  Conte  Oak.  Jules  Mersf  elder. 

62  The  Bridge.  Xavier  Martinez. 

63  California  Landscape.  Carl  Oscar  Borg. 

64  The  Bridge.  Rinaldo  Cuneo. 

65  Presidio  Cliffs.  Bruce  Porter. 

66  Off  for  the  Night  Catch.  Armin  Hansen. 

67  Picardy  Fisher  Folk.  Charles  John  Dickman. 

68  Wild  Mustard.  John  M.  Gamble. 

69  On  the  Range.  C.  S.  Price. 

70  Despair.  Perham  Nahl. 

71  A  California  Seaside  Resort.  John  A.  Stanton. 

72  The  Cardinal's  Portrait.  Toby  Rosenthal. 

73  Cypress  Trees.  (Water  color.)  M.  DeNeale  Morgan. 

74  O  Ye  of  Little  Faith.  Emil  Carlsen. 

75  A  Marine.  William  Ritschel. 

76  The  Pool:  La  Granja.  Ernest  Peixotto. 

77  A  Portrait.  Winifred  Rieber. 

78  Adobe  Interior — Monterey.  Lester  D.  Boronda. 

79  The  Algerian  Woman.  Lee  F.  Randolph. 

80  Late  Afternoon— Mexico.  Will  Sparks. 

81  Sierra  Snows.  Orrin  A.  White. 

82  Symphony  of  Peace.  William  Keith. 

83  Revelation.  William  Keith. 

84  Spirit  of  Music.  William  Keith. 

AMERICAN  PAINTERS  OTHER  THAN  CALIFORNIAN 

101  Entrance  to  the  Seraglio.  Jules  Guerin. 

102  The  Japanese  Screen.  Robert  Reid. 

103  The  Rider.  John  C.  Johansen. 

104  Portrait  of  Judge  Peter  B.  Olney.  George  Bellows. 

105  Fox  and  Geese.  Joseph  T.  Pearson,  Jr. 


Plate 
Number 

106  Dejeuner.  Louis  Rittman. 

107  Coming  of  the  Line  Storm.  Frederick  J.  Waugh. 

108  Miss  M.  and  a  Parrot.  Josephine  Paddock. 

109  The  Nautilus.  Carroll  Beckwith. 

110  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York.  Colin  Campbell  Cooper. 

111  Hudson  River  and  Palisades.  Ernest  Lawson. 

112  Under  the  Bough.  Arthur  B.  Davies. 

113  Ten  Panels  of  the  Sea.  No.  III.  Charles  H.  Woodbury. 

114  Autumn.  C.  Bertram  Hartman. 

115  Valley  of  the  Essonne  :  France.  Walter  Griffin. 

116  Pitch  Pine  :  Gaso  Bay.  John  Marin. 

117  Summer.  Frederic  Carl  Frieseke. 

118  Primavera.  William  J.  Baer. 

119  The  Joy  of  Life.  Alexander  Harrison. 

120  The  Potter.  George  deForest  Brush. 

121  White  Wings.  Birge  Harrison. 

122  Maternity.  Gari  Melchers. 

123  Paresse.  Lawton  S.  Parker. 

124  The  Hills  and  River.  Edward  W.  Redfield. 

125  Bather.  Charles  Walter  Stetson. 

126  Portrait:  Mrs.  Huth.  James  McNeill  Whistler. 

127  Nude  Study.  John  Singer  Sargent. 

128  Quarry:  Evening.  Daniel  Garber. 

129  The  Yachts  :  Gloucester  Harbor.  Childe  Hassam. 

130  Waterfall.  W.  Elmer  Schofield. 

131  Winter's  Festival.  Willard  L.  Metcalf. 

132  St.  Ives  Fishing  Boats.  Hayley  Lever. 

133  Self  Portrait.  William  M.  Chase. 

134  In  the  Studio.  Ellen  Emmet  Rand. 

135  The  Housemaid.  William  McGregor  Paxton. 

136  Portrait:  Daniel  Chester  French.  Robert  Vonnoh. 

137  Woman  with  Forget-Me-Nots.  Frank  Duveneck. 

138  Mother  and  Child.  John  H.  Twachtman. 

139  Portrait  of  Frank  Duveneck.  Joseph  De  Camp. 

140  Nude.  Richard  E.  Miller. 

141  To  Market  in  the  West  Indies.  Johanna  K.  W.  Hailman. 

142  Phantasmata.  Sargeant  Kendall. 

143  Woman  with  Roses.  Philip  Leslie  Hale. 

144  Peace:  Hopiland.  Albert  L.  Groll. 

145  Mother.  John  McLure  Hamilton. 

146  The  Checkered  Dress.  William  H.  K.  Yarrow. 

147  The  Dreamer.  Edmund  C.  Tarbell. 

148  Portrait.  Cecelia  Beaux. 

CALIFORNIAN  SCULPTORS 

201  Puma.  Arthur  Putnam. 

202  Dancing  Bacchante.  Robert  Aitken. 

203  Beyond.  Chester  Beach. 


Plate 
Number 

204  Arcadia.  Edgar  Walter. 

205  Poppy  Nymph.  Joseph  J.  Mora. 

206  Apollo  Hunting.  Haig  Patigian. 

207  Head  of  Louis  Sloss,  Jr.  Ralph  Stackpole. 

208  The  Nymph.  Julia  Bracken  Wendt. 

209  Traumerei.  J.  McQuarrie. 

210  Wall  Fountain.  Maud  Daggett. 

211  Mechanics'  Fountain.  Douglas  Tilden. 

212  Woman  with  Rabbit.  Elizabeth  Edmond. 

213  Enchantment.  Earl  Cummings. 

AMERICAN  SCULPTORS  OTHER  THAN  CALIFORNIAN 

217  Pioneer  Mother  Monument.  Charles  Grafly. 

218  The  Genius  of  Creation.  Daniel  Chester  French. 

219  Signing  of  Louisiana  Purchase  Treaty.  Karl  Bitter. 

220  Lectern  for  Clark  Memorial  Chapel.  A.  A.  Weinman. 

221  Wood  Nymph.  Isidore  Konti. 

222  William  Cullen  Rryant.  Herbert  Adams. 

223  Young  Mother.  Bela  L.  Pratt. 

224  Flora  and  Sonny-Boy  Whitney.  James  Earl  Fraser. 

225  Seated  Lincoln.  Augustus  Saint  Gaudens. 

226  Prima  Mater.  Victor  S.  Holm. 

227  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  John  Quincy  Adams  Ward. 

228  The  Outcast.  Attilio  Piccirilli. 

229  The  Bronze  Turkey.  Albert  Laessle. 

230  L'Amour.  Evelyn  Beatrice  Longman. 

231  Centaur  and  Dryad.  Paul  Manship. 

232  The  Soldier  of  Marathon.  Paul  Nouquet. 

233  Muse  Finding  the  Head  of  Orpheus.  Edward  Berge. 

234  The  Mother  of  the  Dead.  C.  S.  Pietro. 

235  Fragment  of  the  Fountain  of  Time.  Lorado  Taft. 

236  The  Scalp.  Edward  Berge. 

237  The  Butcher,  the  Baker,  the  Candlestickmaker.  Frederick  G.  R. 

Roth. 

238  Washington.  Solon  H.  Borglum. 

239  American  Bison.  A.  Phimister  Proctor. 

240  The  Scout.  Cyrus  E.  Dallin. 

241  Duck  Baby.  Edith  Barretto  Parsons. 

242  Young  Pan.  Janet  Scudder. 

243  A  Boy  with  Fish.  Bela  L.  Pratt. 

244  Young  Diana.  Janet  Scudder. 

245  Wild  Flower.  Edward  Berge. 

246  Boy  Pan  with  Frog.  Clement  J.  Barnhorn. 

247  Boy  and  Frog.  Edward  Berge. 

248  The  Girl  with  the  Dolphin.  Harriet  W.  Frishmuth. 

CALIFORNIAN  ETCHERS 

249  Carmel  Mission.  (Lithograph.)  Louis  Christian  Mullgardt. 

250  Fishing  Day.  Pedro  J.  Lemos. 


Plate 
Number 

251  At  Green-Brae.  Gottardo  F.  P.  Piazzoni. 

252  Seven  Solitudes.  Worth  Ryder. 

253  Court  of  the  Ages,  P.-P.  I.  E.  Gertrude  Partington. 

254  Toward  the  Bay.  William  H.  Wilke. 

255  Granada:  Spain.  Isabelle  C.  Percy. 

256  On  the  Canal.  Joseph  Raphael. 

257  The  Lady  Guinivere.  Clark  Hobart. 

258  Laid  Up.  Armin  Hansen. 

259  Monterey  Cypress.  L.  F.  Randolph. 

260  Pont  Neuf  :  Paris.  Carl  Oscar  Borg. 

AMEBICAN  ETCHERS  OTHER  THAN  CALIFORNIAN 

261  The  Beggars.  James  McNeill  Whistler. 

262  The  Half  Dome  :  Yosemite  Valley.  (Lithograph.)  Joseph  Pennell. 

263  Or  Michele  :  Florence.  Ernest  D.  Roth. 

264  La  Maison  Meline:  Paris.  Herman  A.  Webster. 

265  The  New  Talmud.  Wm.  Auerbach  Levy. 

266  General  Sherman  :  Sequoia  National  Park.  Ernest  Haskell. 

267  The  Arch  :  Rome.  Bertha  J  agues. 

268  Notre  Dame:  Paris.  George  T.  Plowman. 

269  Rainy  Night.  Helen  Hyde. 

270  Lauterbrunnen  :  Switzerland.  Donald  Shaw  MacLaughlan. 

271  Abbeville.  J.  Andre  Smith. 

272  Palace  of  Fine  Arts  and  Colonnade.  (Drypoint.)  Cadwallader 

Washburn. 

MURAL  DECORATIONS  OF  THE  EXPOSITION 

281  Art  Crowned  by  Time.  Milton  Herbert  Bancroft. 

282  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  William  de  Leftwich  Dodge. 

283  Gateway  of  All  Nations.  William  de  Leftwich  Dodge. 

284  Fruits  and  Flowers.  Childe  Hassam. 

285  The  Pursuit  of  Pleasure.  Charles  W.  Holloway. 

286  Ideals  in  Art.  Robert  Reid. 

287  Visions  of  Exploration.  Edward  E.  Simmons. 

288  The  Arrival  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Frank  Vincent  Du  Mond. 

289  Am — The  Windmill.  Frank  Brangwyn. 

290  Air — The  Hunters.  Frank  Brangwyn. 

291  Earth — Dancing  the  Grapes.  Frank  Brangwyn. 

292  Earth — The  Fruit  Pickers.  Frank  Brangwyn. 

293  Fire — Primitive  Fire.  Frank  Brangwyn. 

294  Fire — Industrial  Fire.  Frank  Brangwyn. 

295  Water — The  Fountain.  Frank  Brangwyn. 

296  Water — The  Net.  Frank  Brangwyn. 

SCULPTURE  OF  THE  EXPOSITION 

301  Fountain  of  the  Earth.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek. 

302  North  and  South  Panels:  Fountain  of  the  Earth.  Robert  Aitken. 

303  East  and  West  Panels:  Fountain  of  the  Earth.  Robert  Aitken. 


Plate 
Number 

304  Star  Figure:  Court  of  the  Universe.  A.  Stirling  Calder. 

305  The  Adventurous  Bowman:  Column  of  Progress.   Hermon  A. 

MacNeil. 

306  Friezes  at  Base  of  Column  of  Progress.  Isidore  Konti. 

307  Friezes  at  Base  of  Column  of  Progress.  Isidore  Konti. 

308  The  End  of  the  Trail.  James  Earl  Fraser. 

309  Fountain  of  the  Setting  Sun.  Adolph  A.  Weinman. 

310  Summer.  Furio  Piccirilli. 

310  Spring.  Furio  Piccirilli. 

311  Winter.  Furio  Piccirilli. 

311  Autumn.  Furio  Piccirilli. 

312  The  Elements,  Court  of  the  Universe:  Earth,  Water,  Air,  Fire. 

Robert  Aitken. 

313  Nations  of  the  East  and  Nations  of  the  West.  A.  Sterling  Calder, 

Leo  Lentelli,  and  F.  G.  R.  Roth. 

314  Fountain  of  El  Dorado.  Gertrude  Vanderbilt  Whitney. 

315  Fountain:  Beauty  and  the  Beast.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emit  Jellinek. 

316  The  Priest:  Tower  of  Jewels.  John  Flanagan. 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  STUDIES  OF  THE  EXPOSITION 

317  Rotunda:  Palace  of  Fine  Arts.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek. 

318  Vista:  Colonnade.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek. 

319  Central  Dome  of  Palace  of  Fine  Arts.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O. 

Jellinek. 

320  Rotunda  :  Main  Arch.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek. 

321  Portion  of  Crescent:  Colonnade.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek. 

322  Vista:  Rotunda,  Palace  of  Fine  Arts.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O. 

Jellinek. 

323  Rotunda  and  Hedge  :  Palace  of  Fine  Arts.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O. 

Jellinek. 

324  Vista:  Colonnade,  Entrance  Court  to  Crescent.  Photograph,  Dr. 

Emil  O.  Jellinek. 

325  Palace  of  Fine  Arts.  (General  view.)  Photograph,  Cardinell  Vin- 

cent Company. 

326  An  Archway  of  the  Rotunda.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek. 

327  Central  Dome:  Palace  of  Fine  Arts.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O. 

Jellinek. 

328  The  Tower  of  Ages  :  Court  of  Abundance.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O. 

Jellinek. 

329  Court  of  Palms  and  Sunken  Pool.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jel- 

linek. 

330  Vista:  Court  of  Abundance.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek. 

331  South  Portal:  Palace  of  Liberal  Arts.  Photograph,  Dr.  Emil  O. 

Jellinek. 

332  Section  of  Inner  Dome:  Palace  of  Fine  Arts.  Photograph,  Dr. 

Emil  O.  Jellinek. 


CALIFORNIA  TO  THE  ARTIST 


By  GEORGE  STERLING 

In  what  old  kingdom  shalt  thou  find,  O  child ! 

Such  beauty  as  I  proffer  to  thine  eyes? 
What  starry  loveliness,  divinely  wild, 

Like  this  I  guard  below  my  Western  skies? 

What  dream  hast  thou  of  Islands  far  and  blest, 
That  in  mine  emerald  valleys,  silver-veined, 

Thou  would  not  lose,  knowing  my  realm  is  best, 
My  woodlands,  and  my  mountains  purple-stained? 

Deserts  are  mine,  o'er  which  the  stars  are  great, 
And  mine  the  falling  of  a  thousand  streams; 

I  take  the  voice  of  brook  and  bird — I  wait 
To  mix  a  woven  music  with  thy  dreams. 

My  days  have  mountains  for  their  snowy  birth, 
And  have  an  ocean  for  their  splendid  death; 

My  forests  are  the  elder  shrines  of  earth; 
The  wind  that  has  no  haven  is  my  breath. 

My  robe  is  tremulous  with  many  hues, 

And  fall  of  pearly  petals  after  rain; 
Mine  is  the  treasure  of  the  countless  dews, 

Forever  lost,  forever  found  again. 

All  that  the  mouths  of  old  romance  have  sung, — 
All  that  the  dreamers  dream  of  realms  to  be, 

Abide  the  shaping  hand  or  singing  tongue, 

Between  my  shadowed  hills  and  sapphire  sea. 


I  wait  to  crown  thee  with  a  mystic  vine, 
And  feed  thee  with  an  immaterial  fruit; 

I  crush  all  grapes  of  Beauty,  and  their  wine 
Shall  wake  in  thee  the  god  and  not  the  brute. 

'Mid  golden  clouds  of  sunset  fuming  up 
From  everlasting  censers  of  the  West, 

Set  to  thy  lips  mine  unbetraying  cup, 
And  send  thy  soul  on  an  immortal  quest! 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  ART  IN  CALIFORNIA 


By  BRUCE  PORTER 

IN  attempting  the  wide  retrospective  survey  of  the  graphic  and  monu- 
mental arts  in  California  and  being  confronted  by  the  incoherency 
and  vagueness  of  the  whole  American  field,  the  one  thing  that  pal- 
pably emerges  is  just  the  question,  "What  then,  after  all,  is  one  looking 
for,  listening  for?" 

The  historian  can  answer  that  question  directly:  "For  some  logical 
and  consecutive  expression  of  the  American  or  Californian  spirit,  speak- 
ing through  beauty  in  the  distinctive  speech  of  America  or  of  California." 
To  detect  the  timorous  lisp  of  that  spirit,  any  faltering  intimation  of  what 
it  had  or  has  to  say  to  the  future,  must  be  the  central  preoccupation  of 
the  historian;  and  he  perceives,  in  the  face  of  all  the  poverty  and  con- 
fusion, his  task  to  be  that  of  the  sympathetic  apologist,  who  is,  ever  so 
sympathetically,  to  take  as  the  symbol  this  shining  thread  of  the  spirit 
and  to  follow  it,  disentangle  it,  knot  the  ends  together  where  it  has 
been  broken — making  it  the  clue  in  the  maze,  and  finally  being  content 
to  say  that  if  the  spirit  has  not  always  manifested  itself  in  works  of 
beauty,  yet  the  humblest  work  of  art  reveals  the  maker  and  something 
of  the  social  temper  of  his  time. 

It  is  then,  in  this  American  and  Californian  inquiry,  not  so  much  an 
estimate  of  art  values  that  we  are  seeking,  as  the  revelation  of  the 
human  spirit,  the  temper  of  a  civilization  that  has  produced  so  prodig- 
iously in  so  many  ways  and  so  meagerly  in  the  way  of  art. 

Art  makes  this  confession  of  its  time.  Where  there  are  so  few  notable 
examples  of  art  to  brood  upon  as  in  the  American  vista,  the  brief  essayist 
must,  perforce,  brood  equally  upon  the  social  revelation  and  the  social 
contrasts. 

The  arts  with  which  we  deal  here  require  for  their  orderly  growth 
and  flowering  a  quiet  unattainable  in  a  new  and  lusty  civilization;  the 
absence  of  art  does  not  of  necessity  indicate  an  absence  of  a  wide-spread 
(though  unconscious)  appreciation  of  beauty.  These  pioneers  of  America 
and  of  California  were  encountering  natural  beauty  in  its  abundance 
and  freshness.  Surely  this  prevailing  beauty  in  the  field  of  their  excited 
enterprise  did  win  their  response,  even  though  they  were  too  busy  to 
translate  it  into  consciousness  and,  so,  into  the  terms  of  art. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  delight  in  natural  beauty  in  the 
contemporary  literature  of  the  young  America — for  literature  did,  almost 
appallingly,  devote  itself  to  nature  and  the  theologic  deduction  from 
natural  aspects.  But  our  task  is  to  trace  the  less  spontaneous  arts  that 


22 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


have,  unlike  literature,  to  make  terms  with  the  current  civilization  in 
order  to  win  a  place  and  a  voice.  Speech  and  writing  travel  with  so 
easy  and  light  an  equipment  they  can  foot  it  with  the  pioneers;  the 
graphic  and  monumental  arts  must  delay  until  the  hearths  are  estab- 
lished and  the  time  has  come  to  build  the  temple.  They  move  with  the 
encumbrance  of  a  tradition;  they  require  material  things  for  their 
expression ;  most  of  all,  they  require  the  serenities  of  a  civilization  estab- 
lished and  the  response  assured. 

It  is  with  tradition  that  the  historian  picks  up  his  thread,  for  tradition 
is  an  essential  strand.  That  tradition  runs  straight  to  America  from  the 
cultural  centers  of  Europe  with  the  coming  of  the  colonists;  it  weaves 
into  the  texture  of  that  early  life  and  shines  suddenly  as  a  new,  bright 
thing  in  the  domestic  and  public  buildings  of  the  Atlantic  sea-board 
which  we  very  properly  name  "Colonial."  The  tradition  of  European 
art  is  preserved  and  yet  is  translated  into  a  new  refinement  and  delicacy, 
indicative  of  a  new  choice  and  new  predilections. 

This  refinement,  this  attenuation  of  the  material  employed,  is  the  first 
speech  in  art  of  the  recognizable  new  spirit — the  American  spirit.  It 
stands  as  a  reality  in  that  architecture;  but  it  appears,  too,  in  every 
object  that  the  American  of  that  time  molded  for  his  use  or  his  pleasure 
— in  the  early  furniture,  the  American  ax-handle,  the  American  wagon. 
We  see  the  spirit  intuitively  attenuating,  refining,  as  though  in  an  exquis- 
ite impatience  that  it  must  deal  with  material  things  at  all;  yet  with 
supreme  intelligence  fitting  the  material  to  its  perfect  use. 

How  wide-spread  this  intuitive  predilection  was*  has  not  been  meas- 
ured. It  found  its  consummation,  not  in  the  architecture  that  so  mod- 
estly blossomed  on  the  Atlantic  sea-board,  but  on  the  sea  itself. 

The  American  sailing  ships! — those  slim,  unsung  heralds  that  we  set 
upon  the  seas  of  the  world,  to  proclaim  by  every  shining  spar,  by  each 
adroit  line  of  their  swift  bodies,  that  a  new  race  of  builders  and  con- 
querors had  found  their  voice  in  America.  Surely,  our  ships  must  con- 
tinue to  rank  as  the  triumph  of  that  early  spirit's  expressiveness. 

The  ship  persisted  long  after  our  architecture  had  anything  to  say  of 
the  spirit's  first  fine  rapture;  and  the  ship,  even  now,  sinks  below  our 
unsteady  and  changing  horizons. 

If  then,  it  required  fully  a  century  of  progressive  community  life  for 
the  descendants  of  the  English  race  in  America  to  evolve  what  was 
distinctive  in  architecture  on  land  and  sea,  we  should  not  be  impatient 
in  our  contemplation  of  the  art  of  the  century  that  followed.  It  would 
be  an  unthinking  critic  who  would  ask  that  just  that  tradition  of  refine- 
ment verging  upon  fragility,  be  maintained  by  America,  "bride  of 
change"  as  she  is. 

The  inrush  upon  the  young  states  of  alien  peoples;  the  conquest  of 
the  great  territory  to  the  west;  most  of  all,  the  introduction  of  the 
machine  in  the  processes  of  the  world's  manufacture — who  in  reason 
can  ask  coherency  in  the  art  of  a  nation,  under  revolutions  of  such 
magnitude? 


BEGINNING    OF    ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


23 


Architecture  fell  from  her  delicate  preoccupation  with  style;  painting 
lapsed  from  the  refinements  and  reserves  of  Copley  and  Stuart  and 
both  together  sank  into  a  universal  disregard  and  a  universal  dowdiness. 
Sculpture  practically  had  not  existed  as  an  independent  art  in  the  early 
time;  and  when  she  rose  in  the  nineteenth  century,  she  was  stamped 
with  an  even  greater  dowdiness  than  that  worn  by  her  sister  arts.  One 
can  guess  from  her  aspect,  how  completely  art  had  become  a  thing  apart 
from  the  general  life — speaking  in  the  strangest  tongue  to  these  Ameri- 
can admirers  if  it  spoke  at  all  in  the  arid  marble  portraits  and  the 
"chaste"  nudes. 

They  speak  now  to  us  indisputably  the  fact  that  the  contemporary 
American  was  not  thinking  or  feeling  "Art"  at  all.  And  it  was  just  into 
this  poor  estate  that  California  entered  when  she  became  American. 
Yet  through  this  period  of  neglect  we  can  follow  our  thread  here  and 
there  as  it  gleams  in  individual  works  by  solitary  artists;  and  the  thread 
suddenly  gleams  and  shines  again,  in  that  little  renaissance  of  the  arts 
that  was  nourished  in  the  eighties  by  La  Farge,  McKim,  White,  and 
St.  Gaudens,  culminating  in  the  exposition  at  Chicago  in  1893.  It  was  a 
phenomenal  recapture  of  the  early  American  spirit;  as  it  was,  beautifully 
and  pathetically,  the  last  word  of  that  first  American  speech. 

We  caught  the  echo  of  it  in  California;  we,  too,  had  our  brief  period  of 
absorption  in  architecture  as  an  art;  there  was  a  moment  when  the 
popular  sympathy  was  involved,  really  responded  to  the  work  of  art. 
The  artists  here,  as  in  New  York  and  Chicago,  were  expressing  some  vital 
thing  that  the  people  wanted  to  have  said;  the  artists  were  speaking 
the  speech  of  the  American  spirit  again;  that  was  all  the  reason. 

The  brief  moment  of  illumination  and  mutual  interchange  and  mutual 
understanding  passed;  and  now  we  wait  for  the  newer  language  to  be 
evolved  from  the  bewildering  prolixity  of  our  present  polyglotism. 

California  art  has,  of  necessity,  been  more  or  less  an  echo  of  the 
national  state  of  things;  but,  interestingly  enough,  she  has  caught  the 
echoes  of  a  wider  field  than  the  national.  It  has  been  her  exceptional 
good  fortune — in  more  than  the  arts — to  escape,  in  spite  of  her  isolation, 
the  blight  of  provincialism. 

Her  history  begins  with  the  resounding  names  of  Cabrillo,  Vizcaino, 
and  Drake.  Continuously  have  influences  poured  in  upon  her  from  east 
and  west;  and  if  in  the  arts  her  speech  has  been  hesitant  or  delayed,  it 
may  be  because  of  too  many  voices — too  many  echoes. 

What  the  earliest  of  the  explorers  of  these  coasts  found  in  the  matter 
of  art,  humble  as  it  was,  was  yet  complete  and  perfect  as  an  expression 
of  the  native  life.  The  crude  woodwork  of  the  aboriginal  house  and 
canoe,  the  basketry  for  storage  and  utensils,  the  simple  implements  of 
the  chase  and  for  gaming,  the  leather  and  shell-work — all  these  objects 
afford  us  now,  a  picture  of  the  people  and  the  life  they  lived:  so  ade- 
quately it  reconstructs  the  scene  for  us,  that  the  question  presents  itself, 
as  to  whether  just  this  power  of  communication  is  not  the  test  of  "value" 
to  be  applied  to  any  work  of  art  out  of  the  past? 


24 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Truly  these  Indians  of  the  lowest  state  of  culture  did  leave  a  perfectly 
readable  record  of  themselves  and  what  desire  for  beauty  was  in  them. 
Art  is,  of  course,  the  fine  flower  of  a  people's  existence,  their  highest 
expression;  we  know  that,  within  its  savage  limitation,  the  life  of  this 
primitive  people  was  so  far  coherent  that  they  could  give  this  entirely 
comprehensible  account  of  themselves  to  the  future.  What  is  present 
in  each  of  these  sad  relics  is  the  testimony  that,  for  them,  art  was  an 
integral  part  of  life,  not  a  thing  whimsically  fostered  or  crowded  aside. 

Their  art  was  far  advanced  when  the  first  vessels  of  the  explorers 
touched  upon  the  coast.  It  is  still  practiced  in  obscure  places  for  the 
love  and  need  of  it,  and  decadently  for  profit,  where  it  is  most  to  be 
seen.  It  has  no  place  in  our  tradition  and  can  not  be  worked  in,  however 
curiously  the  effort  persists  to  drag  it  into  the  arts  of  decoration.  Its 
worth  to  us  is  purely  that  of  record,  and  in  its  appeal  to  our  understand- 
ing of  these  vanished  fellow  creatures. 

If  they,  poor  things,  welcomed  the  first  of  us  as  gods  (the  first  of  us 
being  the  gentlemen  adventurers  of  the  Golden  Hinde,  straight  from  the 
court  and  city  of  the  depraved  Tudors)  what  did  they,  the  natives,  make 
of  that  first  work  of  European  art  planted  upon  the  land  which  is  now 
California  and  which  was  then  proclaimed  "New  Albion"? 

It  is  deeper  than  amusing  to  think  that  here  were  sounded  first  the 
sonorous  and  solemn  phrases  of  English  speech  in  the  great  language  of 
the  "Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  but  the  smile  comes  to  our  lips  when  we 
learn  that  the  first  work  of  art  left  upon  the  land  which  is  now  the 
United  States  of  America,  was  the  penny  portrait  of  the  "Virgin  Queen" 
of  England ! 

The  old  diarist  records :  "At  our  departure  hence,  our  Generall  set  up 
a  monument:  namely  a  plate,  nailed  upon  a  faire  greate  poste  .  .  . 
with  her  Highnesses  picture  and  armes,  in  a  peece  of  six-pence  of  current 
English  monie,  under  the  plate."  Thus  the  thread  of  traditional  art  first 
gleamed  upon  the  coast  of  California  and  ties  us  to  the  England  of 
Elizabeth  and  Leicester,  of  Shakespeare  and  Francis  Bacon. 

The  incident  counts  for  us  only  as  it  enriches  the  long  backward  reach 
of  our  survey;  the  Golden  Hinde  lost  in  the  distance;  the  gods  vanished; 
and  the  bereft  native  gazing  in  perplexity  at  the  minute  image  of  the 
most  notably  artificialized  female  in  history,  in  her  monstrous  ruff  and 
her  monstrous  arrogance!  It  is  a  juxtaposition  to  appeal  to  the  Comic 
Muse — and  what  wouldn't  we  give  now  for  that  same  "peece  of  six- 
pence"? 

It  was  nearly  two  hundred  years  before  the  native  was  confronted 
by  any  other  work  of  art  of  European  lineage.  The  coming  of  the  padre 
and  the  setting  up  of  the  cross  can  not  be  classed  with  the  incidental. 
Here  was  a  substantial  historical  event. 

These  missionaries  and  explorers  and  conquerors,  marching  north- 
ward from  Mexico,  planting  the  missions  and  the  presidios  from  San 
Diego  to  Sonoma  within  the  half  century,  did  a  work  that  has  not  been 
adequately  measured  as  a  building  accomplishment. 


BEGINNING    OF    ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


25 


To  have  builded  by  native  labor  and  of  the  most  primitive  materials 
the  twenty-one  missions  and  settlements,  while  the  work  of  conversion 
and  conquest  was  going  forward,  is  a  noble  record.  It  may  be  said 
that  to  engage  the  populace  in  labor,  was  the  perfect  way  to  subject  and 
so  to  convert;  but  if  the  native  had  marvelled  at  the  penny  queen,  how 
much  more  deeply  must  he  have  marvelled  at  these  structures,  which 
rose  with  the  help  of  his  own  hands?  The  missions  vary  in  value;  few 
of  them  make  the  slightest  claim  to  art,  but  all  have  the  virtue  of  direct- 
ness and  of  graciously  belonging  to  the  landscape. 

The  friars  had  come  to  a  land  reminiscent  in  every  feature  of  the 
old  Spain,  with  its  wide  sun-burned  valleys  and  its  strong  hills,  set 
between  the  sierra  and  the  blue  sea.  They  planted,  upon  perfectly 
selected  sites,  these  simple  buildings,  more  truly  Spanish  Colonial  than 
are  the  buildings  of  the  Eastern  states  English  Colonial.  We  do  not 
know  how  the  plans  and  elevations  were  produced.  They  were  appar- 
ently largely  the  product  of  old  and  pleasant  memories  applied  to  the 
new  conditions  of  building,  with  the  strange  material  and  the  poor 
skill  at  hand. 

Here  and  there,  however — as  at  San  Luis  Rey  and,  preeminently,  at 
San  Antonio  of  Padua — hints  of  a  schooled  taste  and  knowledge  come  in. 
San  Antonio,  hidden  in  its  distant  valley  and  its  ruin  mitigated  by  blos- 
soming pomegranates  and  oleanders,  has  an  art  that  none  of  its  brethren 
can  show.  Its  great  arch  of  burnt  brick  (which  still  survived  a  few  years 
ago)  proclaims  an  audacity  that  could  hardly  have  been  ventured  by  any 
but  a  trained  architect. 

Yet  these  delightful  and  appropriate  buildings  and  the  whole  brave 
record  they  embodied  from  the  moment  of  American  occupation,  seem 
to  have  taught  no  lesson,  as  they  have  called  forth  no  protective  care  on 
the  part  of  the  public.  Except  where  they  have  been  attractive  to  the 
curiosity  of  sight-seers  and  tourists  they  have  been  permitted  to  fall  into 
shameful  ruin. 

The  padres  brought  little  to  California  in  the  way  of  art  to  match 
their  fervor  and  enterprise  in  building.  Of  the  paintings  that  came  up  the 
coast  from  Mexico,  there  is  never  a  hint  of  the  sought  masterpiece,  and 
the  colored  wooden  sculpture  which  was  to  be  imported  later  is  of  a 
like  commonplaceness.  Nothing  which  they  brought  compares  with 
what  they  themselves  made  on  the  spot.  They  taught  the  natives  to 
work  agreeably  in  wood  and  clay  and  leather;  and  (one  idly  enough 
speculates)  had  the  sierra  and  the  sea  become  impregnable  barriers 
just  at  that  moment,  what  extraordinary  and  delightful  things  might  not 
have  issued  in  art,  from  this  domination  and  instruction  of  the  native 
race?  The  results  would  not  have  been  of  the  emptiness  of  any  human 
significance  that  our  revivals  in  the  way  of  "mission  furniture"  and 
"Swastika"  pottery,  now  present. 

The  friars  and  the  native  artisans  were  scattered  before  the  wind  of 
change  and,  so  far  as  art  is  concerned,  nothing  was  effected  except  what 
still  remains  to  be  learned  from  the  ruinous  old  examples  of  their  high 
emprise. 


26  ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 

One  can  not  leave  out,  for  the  sake  of  the  touch  of  romantic  color  the 
mention  confers,  the  brief  occupation  by  the  Russians,  with  their  forts 
and  stockades  enclosing  the  chapel  and  barracks  at  Fort  Ross.  That  little 
group  of  log  buildings,  set  at  the  foot  of  the  Coast  Range  and  against 
the  bleak  sea,  is  memorable.  There  were  orchards  and  a  garden  with  its 
quaintly  domed  summer-house  in  the  Slavic  manner.  Nothing  remains 
there  now  but  the  governor's  residence  and  the  log  causeway  from 
the  beach.  There  is  no  possibility  of  tying  this  strange  loose  end  into 
the  thread  of  influence.  The  occupation  was  as  little  contributary  as  the 
transit  of  the  Golden  Hinde  along  the  same  stretch  of  coast,  even  though 
the  Russian  apple  trees  still  yield  their  fruit  and  the  Russian  roses,  hard 
colored  and  sweet,  still  bloom  and  shake  in  the  wind. 

The  earliest  Americans  caught  the  high  tide  of  Spanish  occupation  and 
turned  it  back.  The  artist  had  begun  his  work  in  the  Spanish  houses, 
for  itinerant  and  now  nameless  portrait  painters  there  were,  who  moved 
from  settlement  to  settlement  and  painted  the  dons  and  senoritas.  How 
good  this  first  painting  was,  is  an  inquiry  that  is  likely  to  be  made  in  the 
future.  This  historian  recalls  examples,  seen  in  youth  in  Santa  Barbara, 
Monterey,  and  Martinez,  which  looked  down  from  the  walls  of  high,  dim 
rooms,  with  the  aspect  of  having  the  best  tradition  in  their  keeping;  they 
matched,  these  portraits,  in  courtesy  and  dignity,  the  living  descendants 
of  the  pictured  departed.  For  in  these  same  rooms  were,  even  then,  at 
that  late  day,  manners  and  the  art  of  intercourse,  and  one  saw,  even 
then,  how  the  portraits  and  their  possessors  and  the  manners  were 
meeting  adversities — were  all  to  be  lost  and  hustled  away  as  superfluous 
in  the  new  age,  as  superfluous  as  the  missions  themselves. 

But  these  first  hustlers  brought  with  them  something  of  their  own 
established  serenities  and  something  of  tradition  in  building  and  orna- 
ment and  manners,  which  asserted  itself  as  soon  as  they  began  to  settle. 
That  same  English  Colonial  architecture  (grown  heavier  and  coarser 
from  having  encountered  the  wave  of  pseudo-classicism  that  swept 
America  in  the  forties)  came  to  California  along  with  such  names  as 
Benicia  and  Antioch,  and  set  its  stamp  upon  the  homely,  pleasant  court- 
houses and  dwellings  that  still  delight  us  in  the  central  California  towns. 

The  larger  communities  had  little  to  do  with  it;  the  style  had  become 
rural  and  suburban  in  its  passage  across  the  continent  and  unfitted  for 
city  building.  In  the  cities  a  very  agreeable  manner  was  substituted  that 
yet  held  with  tradition.  These  buildings  of  brick  and  covered  with 
stucco  still  make  wholly  for  the  observer's  pleasure  in  Sacramento,  in 
Marysville  (as  in  the  old  San  Francisco)  as  they  repeat  themselves  with 
a  discreet  variety  in  all  the  shady  streets.  There  is  no  question  of  their 
being  "Art";  they  offer  merely  the  pleasantest  most  modest  little  facades, 
winning  their  chief  distinction  from  the  contrast  they  present  to  what 
immediately  followed  them  and  jostled  them  out  of  popular  favor  in  the 
seventies  and  eighties. 

In  San  Francisco,  however,  in  these  same  years  between  1850  and 
1870,  really  notable  buildings  were  erected,  which  stood  in  the  older 


BEGINNING    OF    ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


27 


quarters  of  the  town  and  impressed  the  observer  with  their  grace  and 
power,  quite  up  to  the  hour  of  conflagration. 

This  architectural  accomplishment  has  never  been  satisfactorily 
accounted  for.  The  names  of  the  architects  were  early  lost,  and,  lacking 
any  reliable  data  and  in  the  presence  of  work  so  much  beyond  what  the 
rest  of  America  had  to  show  for  that  same  period,  an  amusing  body  of 
legend  gathered  about  them  and  was  current  in  the  talk  of  local  enthu- 
siasts, in  which  the  names  of  the  most  distinguished  European  architects 
grandly  figured.  Where  so  much  that  was  unexpected  and  romantic  had 
happened,  it  seemed  quite  within  the  possibility  that  any  one  might  have 
laid  his  hand  upon  the  young  town  and  left  for  us  the  testimony  of  his 
talent.  Certain  it  is,  that  these  buildings  were  the  design  of  trained 
intelligences,  and  the  conclusion  must  be  inferred  that  so  much  intelli- 
gence and  taste  was  not  locally  concentrated,  but  that,  communication 
with  Europe  being  regularly  established,  commissions  for  the  drawings 
were  placed  in  the  hands  of  men  practicing  in  Paris  and  London. 

The  local  French  community  was  large  and  influential  and  if  the  two 
French  bankers  immortalized  themselves  by  commissioning  Meryon  to 
execute  the  first  etched  view  of  San  Francisco,  it  seems  altogether  pos- 
sible that  the  designs  of  certain  of  the  buildings  came  as  straight  from 
the  ateliers  of  Durban  and  Garnier. 

Apart  from  surmise,  there  were  gifted  architects  practicing  in  San 
Francisco,  men  like  Patten,  the  beauty  of  whose  Gothic  manner  was 
shown  in  the  old  Grace  church  and  the  Synagogue.  There  was  restraint 
within  and  respect  for  the  tradition  of  art  everywhere  evidenced,  that 
meant  nothing  less  than  the  populace,  too,  was  maintaining  something 
of  the  old  forms  and  the  good  manners  they  had  brought  from  the  older 
civilization  and  weaving  it  into  the  new.  They  built  homes;  agreeable 
houses  and  gardens  planted  themselves  upon  the  hills  with  a  prompti- 
tude that  was  indicative  of  an  inner  stability  and  orderliness  in  the 
community;  and  they  built  churches,  even  while  the  "Eldorado"  was 
dazzling  the  "transients"  with  its  mirrors  and  high  stakes  and  the 
atmosphere  of  the  mining  camp  still  hung  over  the  town. 

Literature  has  never  sufficiently  celebrated  our  respectabilities;  the 
testimony  to  this  delightful  period  of  sedate  life  (not  without  its  enliven- 
ing contrasts)  rests  almost  entirely  now  in  memories,  such  as  are 
embodied  in  the  strange  "Chronicle  of  Manuel  Alanus"  and  in  the  old 
photographs  and  lithographs  of  the  time. 

We  have  hung  upon  architecture  because  it  bulks  as  the  popular  and 
revealing  art.  Painting  was  practiced  obscurely.  Sculpture  appeared 
only  in  the  ornamentation  of  the  buildings;  their  stucco  decorations 
being  of  no  mean  order,  and  where  it  occasionally  broke  away  into  the 
freer  forms  of  life  and  the  human  figure,  it  did  so  in  a  manner  showing 
capacity  for  true  sculpture  of  merit. 

We  did,  however,  at  this  time,  indulge  almost  inordinately  in  delinea- 
tion by  lithography.  Here  the  artist  had  his  fling — upon  the  letter  papers 
showing  views,  in  the  broadsides  picturing  current  events.  Transitory 


28 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


things,  but  posted  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  They  were  sober  and  respect- 
able productions  and  historically  they  furnish  a  record  surprisingly  rich. 

One  of  these  faded  blue  sheets  pictures  the  group  of  the  first  Chinese 
participants  in  a  Fourth  of  July  parade  in  San  Francisco.  The  incident 
is  momentous,  as  we  look  back  upon  our  history.  In  the  history  of  our 
art  it  signalizes  a  new  and  wonderfully  rich  influence;  however  we  may 
regard  it  as  alien,  this  oriental  thread  has  the  substantiality  of  a  rope. 

We  can  not  incorporate  it  as  an  entity  in  the  texture  that  we  are  now 
weaving,  but  filaments  of  its  splendor  and  dignity  as  Chinese,  of  its 
exquisiteness  as  Japanese,  will  inevitably  weave  in  more  and  more  as  the 
barriers  of  nationality  go  down  under  the  assaults  of  the  spirit  of  human 
brotherhood. 

If  the  artists  of  Europe  were,  at  the  moment  of  this  first  invasion  of  our 
coasts,  opening  their  eyes  to  the  lessons  taught  in  art  by  these  same 
orientals,  we  on  our  side  of  the  world,  in  our  outpost  community,  were 
taking  coolies  by  the  wagon-load  directly  from  the  steamer  landing,  to 
the  old  "Bank  Saloon,"  that  they  might  gaze  with  equal  wonder,  though 
with  probably  less  edification,  upon  a  French  canvas  of  ordinary  merit, 
whereon  was  pictured  the  "Sleeping  Samson  Shorn  by  Delilah." 

It  was  the  "chaste"  nude  again.  What  they  made  of  it,  these  simple 
Chinese — what  they  made  of  this  first  initiation  to  just  what  Western 
art  had  to  offer  them,  we  can  not  guess.  The  incident  may  have  a  lurking 
hint  of  allegory  or  prophecy  in  it,  but  its  humor  justifies  its  record- 
ing here. 

The  Chinese  instantly  began  to  offer  us  of  their  stored  richnesses;  they 
imported  works  of  art  and  lavishly  decorated  the  fine  old  buildings  they 
occupied.  They  did  not  build,  except  here  and  there  an  outdoor  altar, 
and,  notably,  the  one  perfect  little  temple  beside  the  river  at  Marysville. 
But  the  stream  of  importation  has  continued  and  this  flood  of  examples 
of  a  great  art  must  ultimately  yield  an  effect. 

Its  strength  is  diluted  in  the  passage  through  the  Japanese,  and  the 
West  has  already  accepted  that  mitigated  and  very  charming  tradition; 
we  shall  touch  upon  that  influence  in  California  a  little  later;  something 
happens  between. 

This  happening  was  the  whirlwind  of  the  "Big  Bonanza"  years;  all 
threads  were  apparently  snapped  short. 

It  was  powerful  era  of  powerful  men — an  era  of  greed  in  getting  and 
lavishness  in  spending  and  of  a  vulgarity  such  as  the  world  had  never 
before  suffered.  Here  in  California  it  happened  that  the  flush  times  fell 
upon  us  when  in  the  arts  of  the  Western  civilizations  there  was  no 
steadying  tradition.  Something  had  held  over  in  California  of  what  the 
rest  of  America  had  lost;  but  this  remnant  was  to  be  pushed  aside  ruth- 
lessly enough  from  the  path  of  gross  wealth.  The  masters  of  wealth 
dominated  the  scene  so  tyrannously  that  what  art  there  was  or  whatever 
tradition  instantly  succumbed. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  what  became  of  the  scholarly  architects 
with  their  reserves  and  hesitations,  and  of  the  modest  delineators  in 


BEGINNING    OF    ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


29 


lithography.  Great  houses  and  hotels  were  erected,  importations  of 
works  in  sculpture  and  painting  began  to  pour  in  for  their  adornment. 
The  foreign  gaudy  examples  went  where  they  belonged;  the  town  posi- 
tively "bulged"  with  imported  "Art."  One  wonders,  did  the  modest 
lithographers  yield  to  the  prevailing  vulgarity,  and,  taking  service  under 
Mammon,  produce  the  shameless  caricatures  of  the  gutter  publications 
that  were  sold  upon  the  streets  of  San  Francisco  at  that  time?  In  so 
great  a  social  revolution  perhaps  the  conservative  element  that  made 
the  earlier  San  Francisco  was  not  fully  aware  of  more  than  the  stir  and 
the  prosperity,  and  went  in  and  out  of  its  decent  residences  with  only  a 
gratified  sense  of  sharing  in  an  increased  life — even,  perhaps,  surrepti- 
tiously buying  and  chuckling  over  "The  Jolly  Giant"  and  its  caricatures, 
not  really  conscious  that  they  and  their  civilization  were  in  the  clutch 
of  a  cyclone. 

Money  was  so  easy,  that  if  the  great  getters  and  spenders  began  to  dis- 
tribute it  in  the  purchase  of  works  of  art,  they  indiscriminately  bought 
both  bad  and  good;  and  it  is  at  this  time  that  painters  of  a  merit  seriously 
to  be  considered,  came  to  and  were  supported  in  California.  The  Art 
School  was  inaugurated  under  the  direction  of  Vergil  Williams;  and  we 
pick  up  the  thread  just  here  of  our  "connection,"  in  the  gracious  courtesy 
of  the  French  government's  gift  to  the  little  institution  of  casts  from  the 
masterpieces  of  sculpture  in  the  Louvre.  And  it  was  not  long  before  "the 
school"  began  to  send  the  first  of  her  pupils  to  Paris,  with  the  "stumped" 
crayon  examples  of  what  they  had  learned  from  the  French  gift  under 
their  arms — tender  pioneers  of  Calif ornian  art. 

The  wives  and  daughters  of  the  "patrons  of  art"  went  to  Paris,  too — 
for  fashions  in  clothes  and  husbands — while  the  "patrons"  stayed  at 
home  in  the  wooden  palaces — they  who  had  "sown  the  wind,"  while  the 
community  "reaped  the  whirlwind." 

Virginia  City,  raised  in  a  night  and  gutted  in  a  decade,  remains  as  the 
most  expressive  ghost  of  that  inebriated  period.  It  stands  in  its  barren 
hills,  a  pitiable,  falling,  ever  so  fitting  monument  to  its  creators;  and  its 
"Internation  Hotel"  (where  the  banquets,  brought  straight  from  San 
Francisco  by  train,  with  the  champagne  on  the  ice,  were  served)  is  the 
epitome  of  what  vulgarity  can  do  to  architecture  and  the  sister  arts.  The 
chapter  properly  closes  there,  where  it  began. 

There  was  to  be  no  resumption  of  the  old  good  and  sedate  taste  in 
building;  things  had  come  to  too  utter  a  smash  in  matters  of  taste.  What- 
ever art  there  was,  had  something  of  the  look  of  surreptitiousness  worn 
by  our  old  householder,  going  about  his  decencies  with  "The  Jolly  Giant" 
in  his  coat-tail  pocket. 

Change  was  inevitable,  even  had  California  escaped  the  gross  flatu- 
lency of  the  bonanza  years.  The  railroad  had  spanned  the  continent  and 
she  was  no  longer  a  rich  province  apart  from  the  world,  but  a  sharer 
now  in  its  wide  unrest.  San  Francisco  had  earlier  attained  to  public 
collections  of  art  at  Woodward's  Gardens  and  at  the  "Cob-web  Palace" 
on  Meigg's  wharf  (that  unholy  bar-room,  with  its  monkeys  chattering 


30 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


over  the  sawdust  floor).  If  in  those  early  days,  one's  childish  innocence 
was  taken  everywhere,  the  first  impression  of  ranged  works  of  art  in 
gold  frames,  is  permeated  with  the  odor  of  animals,  stuffed  and  alive; 
or,  as  at  the  "Mechanic's  Fair,"  with  the  scent  of  peanuts  and  popcorn. 
"Art"  wore  the  aspect  of  being  enormously  popular,  even  though  it  was 
so  largely  foreign  and  imported. 

"Duncan's  Auction  Rooms"  had  been  succeeded  by  the  established  art 
stores.  A  little  community  of  artists  gathered  and  nested  in  the  "Latin 
Quarter,"  and  there  must  have  been  some  latent  discernment  among 
patrons  to  support  so  meritorious  a  group  as  that  formed  by  Hill,  Keith, 
Tavenier,  Yelland,  and  the  others  who  managed  fruitfully  to  survive. 

Looking  now  upon  the  paintings  done  at  that  time,  there  was  every 
justification  for  survival.  It  was  good  painting,  and,  in  particular 
instances,  of  an  expertness  quite  amazing.  The  painters  were  for  the 
most  part  men  who  had  been  well  trained  before  their  advent  in  Cali- 
fornia; and  if  their  response  to  the  new  wonder  of  nature  was  expressed 
in  the  established  language  of  their  schooling,  it  was  a  language  that 
adequately  conveyed  their  bright  surprise  at  the  large  prospect. 

The  work  of  Thomas  Hill  has  been  neglected  of  late,  since  it  has 
become  the  fashion  to  diminish  the  creations  of  the  school  to  which  he 
belonged;  that  "school"  managed  its  panoramic  canvases  with  wonder- 
ful skill;  and  Hill,  with  his  sure  brush  and  rapid  execution,  had  an  eye 
open  to  the  light  and  met  and  solved  certain  problems  at  a  time  when 
the  problems  had  scarcely  become  apparent  to  the  majority  of  the 
painters  in  America. 

Of  William  Keith,  self-trained  as  he  was  in  California,  there  is  not 
space  here  to  speak  justly.  As  he  remains  the  best  known  and  most 
widely  honored  painter  that  California  has  produced,  the  critical  esti- 
mate of  his  work  is  inevitably  to  be  made  in  the  future.  How  great  that 
work  was  at  its  best;  how  it  stands  with  the  best  landscape  art  that  fol- 
lowed Constable  and  the  Frenchmen  of  1830,  requires  no  temerity  in 
assertion.  The  task  will  always  be  to  protect  our  judgment  by  holding 
to  the  highest  in  his  enormous  and  very  unequal  production.  The  critic 
of  the  future  is  less  likely  to  be  "swamped"  in  his  estimate,  than  is  a 
contemporary.  Keith's  art  at  its  very  personal  best  is  of  a  rich  imagin- 
ing on  the  themes  afforded  by  nature;  but  both  Keith  and  Hill  and  the 
painters  of  their  time  and  later  looked  upon  the  actual  nature  about 
them  with  (shall  we  say)  something  of  the  eyes  of  strangers  in  a  strange 
land.  Their  transcripts  are  undoubtedly  of  the  California  scene,  but  we 
feel  (as  we  feel  in  the  great  majority  of  works  of  landscape  art)  that,  set 
down  anywhere  on  earth,  the  painters  would  employ  this  identical  lan- 
guage of  transcription.  Here  and  there  a  great  man  does  speak  in  the 
particular  terms  of  the  country  about  him,  fits  the  language  to  his  native 
theme;  Vermeer,  Constable,  Corot,  Titian,  Valasquez,  and  the  Chinese 
masters  thus  speak.  It  would  seem  to  mean  that  the  artist  and  his  theme 
had  become  mutually  penetrative,  and  it  is  this  interchange  and  perfect 
transfusion  that  we  must  wait  for  in  California's  art. 


BEGINNING    OF    ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


31 


The  students  returning  from  Paris  began  at  this  time  to  bring  their 
gifts  to  the  local  altar;  the  late  eighties  and  early  nineties  brought  us  the 
echo  of  the  little  Renaissance  in  New  York  through  a  group  of  young 
architects,  painters,  and  decorators.  It  was  a  charming,  brief  period, 
filled  with  enthusiasm  and  a  quite  fresh  perception  of  the  city  and  its 
romantic  beauty  and  the  beauties  of  California.  The  social  life  had 
again  attained  something  of  the  old  orderliness  and  serenity,  only  now 
its  activities  in  art  were  preeminently  in  the  hands  of  youth.  Writers, 
painters,  sculptors,  architects,  and  musicians  communicated  their  enthu- 
siasms one  to  the  other,  in  a  communion  closer  and  more  stimulating 
than  has  ever  happened  locally,  before  or  since. 

Things  were  accomplished  in  the  community's  sense  of  the  meaning  of 
art,  if  little  that  was  actual  and  substantial  took  visible  form.  The 
artists  were  playing  the  part  of  discoverers  and  prophets  in  the  Cali- 
fornia environment  and  then,  having  prophetized — most  of  them  went 
to  New  York.  The  material  opportunities  here  were  not  frequent  enough, 
that  was  all;  California  could  not  feed  all  her  fledglings  and  they  were 
crowded  out  of  the  nest,  to  sing  or  paint  or  carve  their  way  to  success  or 
fame  somewhere  else.  None  of  them  failed,  and  many  have  brought 
honor  to  the  name  of  California.  The  sons  and  daughters  of  the  state 
continue  to  seek  and  to  pervade  the  older  centers  and  to  manifest  their 
gifts  in  all  the  arts  in  almost  embarrassing  numbers. 

Architecturally,  this  decade  witnessed  the  first  attempt  at  a  revival  of 
Spanish  Colonial  that  was  too  excitedly  undertaken  to  be  successful  in  its 
adaptation  to  modern  and  changed  uses,  and  it  is  only  now  and  occa- 
sionally that  the  lessons  of  that  old  style  are  beginning  to  be  sympatheti- 
cally applied  and  the  warnings  afforded  by  the  first  adventures  regarded. 

This  decade  of  the  nineties  accomplished,  beyond  its  public  buildings, 
a  type  of  middle-class  dwelling  that  is  distinguished  by  refinement  and 
the  use  of  the  native  woods.  These  dwellings  inaugurated  what  may  be 
regarded  as  almost  a  "Californian"  style  in  homes.  The  redwood  inte- 
riors of  the  dwellings  made  agreeable  backgrounds  for  the  domestication 
of  the  Japanese  works  of  art  that  were  being  collected  and  the  refine- 
ments of  that  art  continue  to  exert  a  strong  influence  upon  California 
life  and  its  struggle  toward  a  conscious  sense  of  beauty. 

This  oriental  thread  appears  as  a  leading  influence  in  the  art  instruc- 
tion in  the  public  schools.  That  system  is  a  notable  one,  the  seed  of 
which  was  planted  and  first  blossomed  in  the  old  Broadway  School  in 
San  Francisco,  there  proving  the  case  for  art  as  an  educational  means,  as 
probably  it  was  never  so  charmingly  proved  before. 

The  handicrafts  and  secondary  arts  began  to  flourish  at  this  time  in  a 
legitimate  association  with  architecture.  Illustration,  freed  from  its 
dependence  upon  the  engraver,  took  the  initial  steps  toward  its  present 
journalistic  loquacity.  Photography  (which  had  put  an  end  to  wood  and 
steel  engraving)  made  her  claim  to  a  place  among  the  arts.  The  gardens, 
that  had  heretofore  "happened"  were  now  brought  to  design,  and  a  wide 
field  opened  that  promises  to  yield  a  local  expression  in  a  noble  art. 


32 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Sculpture  found  its  true  place  as  public  monuments  were  erected  under 
demand  of  a  new  civic  pride. 

There  had  been  decorators  at  work  in  San  Francisco  during  the  middle 
period,  who  had  capably  frescoed  the  theaters  and  palaces  and  bar- 
rooms; but  it  was  in  the  nineties  that  the  first  mural  paintings,  in  the 
modern  sense,  were  executed  by  artists  eager  for  the  larger  problems  and 
the  larger  surfaces  which  the  wall  offers. 

And  in  all  of  these  various  and  faltering  efforts  there  was  a  quality  of 
ingenuousness  that  our  later  performances  appear  to  have  missed,  and 
that  might  well  make  us  pause. 

Mere  habit  and  increasing  expertness  seem  somehow  to  rob  the  work 
of  art  of  the  bloom,  the  charm,  of  humbleness  and  self-forgetfulness. 
One  suspects  that  it  is  this  expertness  of  hand,  this  easy  habit  in  produc- 
tion, that  is  the  real  menace  to  art  in  every  age;  and  that  most  seriously 
is  it  the  menace  in  the  formative  period  of  a  people's  expression,  when 
old  and  essential  truths  are  waiting  to  be  retold  in  a  new  language — a 
language  to  be  cautiously  evolved  by  the  processes  of  time  and  deep 
thinking. 

If  in  the  nineties  we  were  a  little  hesitant  and  humble,  yet  out  of  that 
decade  emerge  two  names  that  will  make  a  distinctive  claim  upon  the 
consideration  of  the  future,  Arthur  Atkins  the  painter,  Arthur  Putnam 
the  sculptor.  Both  men  saw  natively  and  with  their  own  eyes,  and  each 
inevitably  spoke  his  own  language.  In  their  language  we  have,  perhaps, 
an  intimation  of  what,  ultimately,  the  speech  of  California  is  to  be. 

Yet  both  men  embody  in  their  works  the  great  traditions  of  the  art 
of  the  past;  and  so  they  place  securely  in  our  hands  again,  the  inspiring 
filament  which  connects  us  with  all  that  is  sanest  in  humanity's  struggle 
to  express  beauty  and  the  truth  of  beauty.  With  the  assurance  this 
thread  affords  us  in  the  present  confused  state  of  the  arts,  we  had  per- 
haps best  reverently  hold  it  as  a  clue  (indubitably  our  own)  and  merely 
stand  and  wait  the  confirmation  of  the  future. 

What  that  future  is  to  offer,  we  can  not  guess.  So  far  as  we  have  gone 
our  worth  appears  to  lie,  not  so  much  in  what  we  have  done,  as  in  what 
we  are  and  promise  to  become.  The  exodus  of  California  artists  con- 
tinues. It  is  the  strange  sign  of  deeper  things  in  the  young  common- 
wealth. It  is  the  announcement  of  a  rich  fertility,  hidden  and  myste- 
rious, in  those  spiritual  qualities  and  impulses  which,  in  a  race,  bring  to 
birth  the  poet,  the  painter,  the  builder,  and  the  musician. 

In  our  ignorance  of  what  these  spiritual  impulses  are  and  whence  they 
are  derived,  we  must  strive  to  learn  how  to  nourish,  how  to  cherish  them; 
and  how  not,  by  any  coarsening  of  our  perceptions  or  receptivities,  to 
thwart  and  destroy  them. 

The  sign  has  been  given  to  us  and  to  the  world.  What  it  signifies  can 
not  be  claimed  as  our  human  accomplishment.  It  is  an  inestimably 
precious  gift  placed  in  our  care.  And  the  ultimate  test  of  our  civilization 
will  be  the  use  that  we  have  managed  to  make  of  it — our  integrity  as 
custodians. 


CALIFORNIAN  PAINTERS 


4 


THE  GHOST  STORY 


/?!/  Arthur  F.  Mathews 


Plate  No.  1 


LAKE  LOUISE  By  Henry  Joseph  Breuer 


Plate  No.  2 


PORTRAIT  OF  ISABEL  P   By  Betty  deJong 


Plate  No.  3 


ISABELLA  (or  DESPAIR) 


By  Anne  M.  Bremer 


Plate  No.  4 


HOT  AFTERNOON  By  Guy  Rose 


Plate  No.  5 


STONE  PINES  By  Florence  Lundbobg 


Plate  No.  6 


Plate  No.  7 


PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  LENTELLI 
Plate  No.  8 


By  Matteo  Sandona 


Plate  No.  9 


Plate  No.  10 


Plate  No.  11 


Plate  No.  12 


PORTRAIT  OF  MADAME  D—  By  Ci.abk  Hobabt 


Plate  No.  13 


WHISPERINC  LOVE  By  Jean  Mannheim 


Plate  No.  14 


A  PORTRAIT  By  Clarence  K.  Hinkle 


Plate  No.  15 


TEMPLE  OF  NIKE  ON  THE  ACROPOLIS  OF  ATHENS  By  Ferdinand  Buhgdorff 


Plate  No.  16 


Plate  Xo.  17 


WHAT  AN  INDIAN  THINKS  By  Maynard  Dixon 


Plate  No.  18 


REFLECTIONS  By  C.  P.  Townsley 


Plate  No.  19 


Plate  No.  20 


PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  FRANCIS  CAROLAN  By  Herman  G.  Herkomer 


Plate  No.  21 


WEST  ANGORA  PEAK,  LAKE  TAHOE  By  Lorenzo  P.  Latimer 


Plate  No.  22 


EUCALYPTUS  AND  CLOUDS  By  Marion  Kavanagh  Wachtel 

A  Water  Color 


Plate  No.  23 


EDUCATIONAL  FOUNTAIN  AND  DOME  OF  FINE  ARTS  PALACE  By  Donna  Schuster 

A  Water  Color 


Plate  No.  24 


THE  VERANDA  TABLE 


Plate  No.  25 


A  STREET  IN  MONTEREY 
A  Water  Color 


By  Isabel  Hunter 


Plate  No.  26 


PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  W—  By  Geneve  Rim-obd  Sargeant 

Owned  by  Mrs.  Wismer 


Plate  No.  27 


PORTRAIT  OF  AN  ACTOR 


By  Frank  J.  Van  Sloun 


Plate  No.  28 


EUCALYPTI  By  Giuseppe  Cadenasso 


Plate  No.  29 


THE  BLUE  KIMOXA  By  John  Hubbard  Rich 


Plate  No.  30 


SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA  HILLS 


By  Maurice  Braun 


Plate  No.  31 


PORTRAIT  OF  STUART  EDWARD  WHITE  By  Rob  Wagner 


Plate  No.  32 


2  O 


r 


a 


O  YE  OF  LITTLE  FAITH  By  Emil  Carlsen 


Plate  No.  74 


Plate  No.  75 


THE  POOL:  LA  GRAN  J  A  By  Ernest  Peixotto 


Plate  No.  76 


A  PORTRAIT 
Plate  No.  77 


By  Winifred  Rieber 


Plate  No.  78 


THE  ALGERIAN  WOMAN 


By  Lee  F.  Randoi.I'H 


Plate  No.  79 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  WESTERN  ART 


By  EVERETT  C.  MAXWELL 

TO  APPEAL  to  the  average  reader  in  pursuit  of  additional  knowl- 
edge upon  the  subject  of  Western  art,  I  realize  that  it  is  essential 
to  lay  aside  technicalities  and  build  the  theme  upon  a  struc- 
tural basis. 

It  is  impossible  to  appreciate  the  trend  of  art  without  knowing  some- 
thing of  its  full  development.  While  this  statement  applies  broadly  to 
the  art  of  the  world  in  general,  it  is  especially  true  of  the  art  of  the 
West,  and  particularly  to  that  unique  section  known  vaguely  as  the 
great  Southwest.  In  referring  to  this  magic  region,  we  include  Southern 
California  from  Santa  Barbara  to  San  Diego  and  the  states  of  Arizona 
and  New  Mexico;  and  it  is  out  of  this  picturesque  territory  that  so  much 
that  is  new  and  vital  in  the  school  of  American  landscape  painting  has 
emerged. 

It  seems  almost  an  absurdity  to  divide  the  northern  section  of  Califor- 
nia from  that  of  the  south  in  dealing  with  the  history  of  Western  art. 
Yet,  in  order  to  do  full  justice  to  the  equally  important  achievements 
of  both  sections,  it  is  necessary  to  approach  the  subject  from  almost 
opposite  viewpoints.  It  is  readily  understood  that  art  reflects  the 
physical  and  temperamental  conditions  of  its  time  and  place  with 
mirror-like  accuracy;  hence,  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  appreciate  the  dif- 
ference between  a  canvas  painted  in  Southern  California  or  Arizona 
and  one  inspired  by  the  less  sensuous  beauties  of  the  north.  While 
much  of  the  same  topographical  formation  is  found  in  all  sections  of 
the  state,  and  many  of  the  trees  and  much  of  the  flora  that  beautifies  the 
south  are  also  abundant  in  the  north,  none  can  dispute  the  fact  that 
the  character  of  the  northern  landscape  is  totally  dissimilar  from  that 
of  the  south.  There  is  a  rich  mellowness,  a  brooding  melancholy,  about 
the  Southwest  that  allures  and  eludes,  and  painters,  poets,  and  roman- 
ticists never  tire  of  trying  to  read  the  hidden  meaning  that  lies  back 
of  the  smiling  mask  of  the  rolling  hills  of  Southern  California  and  the 
stern,  merciless  beauty  of  the  desert.  In  the  south  the  wave-washed 
shores  of  the  Pacific,  with  their  sandy  formations,  grotesque  cliffs,  and 
fantastic  headlands  are  as  unlike  the  colder  waters  and  the  etched 
shore-line  of  Monterey  and  Santa  Cruz  as  anything  could  well  be.  The 
southland  is  a  symphony  of  brown  ten  months  out  of  the  year.  Its 
brilliant  sunlight  veils  shore-line  and  valley  with  a  film  of  gray  haze 
that  challenges  the  tonal  painter  to  his  full  capacity. 

Many  painters  go  to  nature  with  a  pre-conceived  idea  of  light  and 
shadow  and  their  effects  upon  the  landscape.  This  is  one  sure  way 


34 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


to  artistic  failure,  and  I  have  observed  many  such  disasters  when  a 
painter  who  was  not  familiar  with  the  West  attempted  to  portray  some 
phase  of  it  upon  his  canvas.  Many  believe  that  brilliant  light  effects  are 
essential  in  depicting  this  Western  country.  As  a  rule,  this  is  sadly 
erroneous.  The  rich  warmth  of  the  southern  sun  casts  a  soft  mantle 
over  hill  and  vale,  and,  while  the  whole  canvas  must  be  extremely  high 
in  key,  it  is  not  possible  to  employ  pure  elementary  color  and  obtain  a 
truthful  result.  Of  course,  there  are  certain  sections  of  the  Southwest 
where  conditions  of  atmosphere  conspire  with  the  dramatic  character 
of  the  country,  and  the  landscape  resembles  nothing  so  much  as  a  stage- 
set  brilliantly  illuminated  by  artificial  lights.  The  painted  desert,  the 
Grand  Canon  region,  and  certain  localities  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico 
come  into  this  class.  On  the  other  hand,  the  desert  regions  of  California 
do  not  possess  this  spectacular  aspect  in  a  marked  degree,  and  I  have 
seen  many  effects  in  the  Imperial  Valley  that  were  as  somber  and  as 
low-keyed  as  any  of  the  works  of  the  old  Dutch  masters. 

The  chief  difference  between  the  landscape  of  Southern  California 
and  that  of  the  northern  part  of  the  state  lies  well  within  that  realm 
of  the  inner  mind  known  in  art  as  "feeling."  The  whole  mental  and 
temperamental  outlook  undergoes  a  radical  change,  as  one  journeys 
northward  from  San  Diego  to  San  Francisco.  The  northern  color  is 
cooler,  purer,  and,  hence,  thinner.  There  exists  a  certain  classic  charm 
that  is  lacking  in  the  more  mellow  and  romantic  contour  of  the  south. 
More  imagination  and  less  devotion  to  nature  characterize  the  work  of 
the  northern  painters,  and  often  I  have  observed  an  intellectuality  dis- 
played in  their  work  that  is  supplanted  by  inspiration,  and  even  senti- 
ment, in  the  work  of  the  southern  men. 

These  comparisons  will,  I  believe,  give  the  reader  a  brief  insight  into 
the  physical  conditions  of  the  Southwest  that  have  played  such  an 
important  part  in  the  development  of  our  art  up  to  the  present  time, 
and  that  are  bound  to  prevent  the  two  groups  of  workers  from  uniting 
into  one  school  of  painting  in  the  future. 

When,  in  the  early  fifties,  the  Star  of  Empire  swung  westward  and 
California  became  the  most  talked  of  locality  in  America  our  present-day 
art  was  born,  in  an  environment  as  unfavorable  as  ever  existed  in  any 
land  at  any  time.  Had  not  gold  been  discovered  and  the  land  left  free  to 
develop  by  its  own  resources  of  soil  and  climate,  we  would  today  have 
had  a  vastly  different  art  expression,  and  one  far  more  romantic  and 
picturesque.  True,  indeed,  the  progress  would  have  been  much  slower 
than  has  been  the  case;  and  I  shudder  to  sum  up  results. 

California,  after  the  brutal  disestablishment  of  the  Franciscan  mis- 
sions in  1834,  lost  her  chief  claim  to  old-world  romance  and  tradition. 
Had  the  mission  system  continued,  no  doubt  our  art  would  have  been 
greatly  influenced  by  the  church.  Why  some  of  this  influence  has  not 
remained  is  cause  for  wonderment,  for  at  one  time  all  of  California,  the 
Southwest,  and  old  Mexico  were  under  the  full  domination  of  the  Fran- 
ciscans and  much  of  their  art,  both  imported  and  domestic,  is  still  to 


THE    STRUCTURE    OF    WESTERN  ART 


35 


be  found  in  California.  No  doubt  the  majority  of  these  old  church 
pictures  were  painted  in  Spain  and  we  know  for  a  fact  that  many  were 
sent  up  from  Mexico  and  even  from  Lower  California,  although  I  have 
proof  that  no  less  than  a  thousand  canvases  were  painted  at  the  mission 
establishments  in  California  between  the  years  of  1800  and  1825.  The 
majority  of  these  have  been  destroyed;  by  hook  or  crook  many  found 
their  way  back  to  Mexico;  the  church  still  possesses  a  scattered  remnant, 
and  others  went  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe  in  the  possession  of 
early-day  traders. 

Even  before  the  gray-robed  padres  advanced  their  civilization,  the 
West  harbored  in  vast  hordes  a  primitive  race  that  were  not  without  an 
art  expression.  The  work  in  applied  design  of  the  California  Indians  is 
not  to  be  overlooked  or  underestimated.  Much  of  it  is  fine  in  line,  excel- 
lent in  draughtmanship,  and  spaced  with  a  true  feeling  for  pure  decora- 
tion. This  truly  primitive  art  has  had  perhaps  a  more  telling  influence 
upon  Western  painting  than  did  the  best  efforts  of  the  monkish  artists 
in  their  cloisters.  At  any  rate,  it  has  been  far  more  honest  and  a  healthier 
heritage. 

The  days  of  the  Argonauts  wrought  a  marvelous  change.  In  a  few 
brief  years  California  became  a  great  hive  of  money-mad  men.  From 
a  picturesque  old-world  atmosphere  it  was  changed  into  one  of  modern 
commercialism  which  has  abated  but  little  down  to  the  present  time. 
California  was  one  vast  mining  camp  from  1849  until  the  fever  burned 
itself  out  by  slow  degrees.  This  period  also  produced  its  translators  in 
paint,  and  for  a  time  all  too  long  we  had  the  rough-and-tumble  life  of 
camp  and  mining  town  laboriously  detailed  in  pigment.  Blood-smeared 
Indians,  gunmen,  cowboys,  stage  hold-ups,  and  gambling  frays  were 
subjects  common  to  the  painter,  and,  while  the  great  majority  of  these 
atrocities  have  disappeared,  I  have  occasionally  chanced  upon  a  few 
stray  gems,  both  in  California  and  the  Middle  West. 

The  painter  is  always  stimulated  by  that  indomitable  spirit  for  dis- 
covery inherent  in  every  man,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  geo- 
graphical phenomena  of  this  land  of  a  thousand  wonders  claimed  the 
artists'  interests  and  their  talents.  Canon,  mountain  peak,  gorge,  water- 
fall and  torrent  ensnared  and  enthralled  them,  and  the  days  of  the 
scenic  painters  were  ushered  in — to  remain  long  and  to  leave  their  stamp 
upon  the  art  of  the  West,  even  to  the  present  day. 

Notable  figures  of  this  group  were  Albert  Bierstadt,  Thomas  Hill, 
Thomas  Moran,  and  William  Keith,  during  the  latter's  early  period  of 
artistic  endeavor.  With  this  group  of  men  art  took  firm  root  in  the 
new  soil  of  the  then  unknown  West;  and  the  development  has  been 
steady,  consistent,  and  essentially  slow  ever  since. 

Thus  the  Hudson  Biver  school  reached  out  its  tentacles  and  carried 
its  message  to  the  vast  wilderness  beyond  the  Bockies,  and  there,  in  that 
magic  land  of  golden  light  and  purple  shadows,  it  grew  and  flourished 
and  lived  long  after  its  exponents  and  their  influence  had  vanished  from 
the  section  that  knew  them  first.  Thomas  Moran  came  West  with  the 


36 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Hayden  expedition  in  1871,  first  painting  the  natural  freaks  of  the 
Yellowstone.  In  1873  he  painted  his  well-known  "Yosemite"  canvas, 
which  later  became  a  companion  piece  for  the  equally  well-known 
"Grand  Canon"  portrayal.  The  following  year  he  explored  the  Grand 
Basin  of  the  Colorado  and  painted  throughout  the  region.  Albert  Bier- 
stadt,  in  spite  of  his  many  shortcomings,  possessed  a  certain  facility  for 
paint.  He  was  romantic  in  temperament  and  had  the  power  of  repre- 
senting the  constructive  force  of  mountain  masses  and  suggesting  per- 
spective. Unlike  Moran,  his  was  purely  an  intellectual  comprehension. 
He  was  never  able  to  read  back  of  nature  and  arrive  at  an  artistic  truth 
higher  than  actual  fact.  We  may  class  Bierstadt  and  Moran  together, 
however,  as  historical  painters.  Two  of  Bierstadt's  best  canvases  are 
called  "Settlement  of  California"  and  "Sunset  in  the  Sierras." 

Thomas  Hill  and  William  Keith  have  given  us  an  art  heritage  more 
lasting  and  far  more  useful  to  their  immediate  followers.  Hill  and  Keith 
both  felt  the  influence  of  French  painting  and  profited  thereby.  I  am 
speaking  now  of  Keith's  early  period,  which  was  as  totally  unlike  his 
middle  period  as  was  his  later  period  different  from  his  second  style. 
Keith  easily  out-distanced  all  of  his  Western  contemporaries,  and  his 
canvases  have  influenced  more  painters  in  the  West  than  have  the 
combined  output  of  his  fellow  artists  of  that  remote  time.  Keith's  place 
in  the  art  history  of  the  West  is  fixed.  He  was  a  unique  genius  and  a 
personality  of  many  parts.  His  days  of  scenic  painting  are  of  minor 
importance.  He  soon  changed  his  style  and  his  poetic  conception  of 
nature  took  precedence  over  everything  else,  and  today  his  canvases 
are  recognized  the  world  over  as  the  first  great  works  of  art  produced 
in  the  West. 

I  have  endeavored  to  point  out  the  distinctive  periods  that  combine 
to  form  the  foundation  upon  which  modern  art  in  the  West  is  built, 
and  now  we  are  ready  to  consider  briefly  the  work  that  is  being  turned 
out  by  our  Western  painters  of  the  present  time. 

The  development  of  Western  art  has  been  slow,  and  today  we  are 
forced  to  admit  that  no  definite  conclusion  has  been  reached  by  the 
men  who  lead  in  the  movement  to  establish  a  distinct  school  of  land- 
scape painters  on  the  Coast.  To  declare  that  the  West  has  yet  developed 
a  school  of  painting  would  scarcely  be  justifiable  at  this  time;  yet  I  am 
convinced  that  students  of  art  in  America  have  missed  a  source  of 
interesting  study  by  neglecting  to  follow  the  trend  of  art  on  the  Pacific 
Slope.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  remoteness  of  the  regions  where  much 
of  the  best  efforts  are  centered,  yet  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  will- 
ful neglect;  and  in  order  to  clear  the  vision  a  profound  research  will  be 
necessary  on  the  art  of  the  apathetic.  I  think  that  none  who  are  familiar 
with  present-day  conditions  will  dispute  me  when  I  declare  that  out  of 
this  land  of  silent  places  will  come  a  native  art  as  strong,  as  vital,  and 
as  colorful  as  the  land  that  inspired  and  fostered  it. 

The  modern  painter  in  the  West  today  is  a  strange  combination  of 
Eastern  and  European  training,  mixed  with  a  local  viewpoint  and  a 


THE    STRUCTURE    OF    WESTERN  ART 


37 


determination  to  be  individual.  Few  of  our  best  artists  are  native  sons. 
As  a  rule,  the  West  has  called  them  from  less  attractive  environments 
and  has  claimed  them  as  her  own.  Many  have  virtually  grown  up  in 
California  and  the  whole  development  of  their  art  has  been  accom- 
plished in  the  state.  Occasionally,  we  observe  the  work  of  a  native 
born,  locally  trained  painter  and  we  are  at  once  deeply  interested.  The 
canvas  is  stamped  with  a  verve  and  daring  that  are  always  refreshing. 
The  day  of  the  scenic  painter  is  past,  and  no  longer  does  the  cowboy, 
the  desperado,  and  the  savage  supply  the  motive  for  our  expressions  in 
paint.  Our  workers  have  found  that  it  is  the  moods  of  nature  that 
appeal,  and  no  longer  do  the  scenic  wonders  find  favor.  I  doubt  if  the 
time  will  ever  come  when  our  Californian  and  Southwestern  painters 
will  come  together  in  a  unified  group  of  interpretative  landscapists.  I 
have  pointed  out  the  varying  physical  conditions  that  render  this  an 
impossibility,  even  if  it  were  considered  wholly  desirable. 

San  Francisco  supports  a  large  and  excellent  group  of  men  who  are 
daily  adding  luster  to  its  native  art  history.  Los  Angeles  also  has  a 
thriving  colony,  and  small  groups  are  to  be  found  at  Monterey,  Santa 
Barbara,  Laguna  Beach,  and  San  Diego.  Toas,  New  Mexico,  is  rapidly 
becoming  the  producing  center  of  the  Southwest,  and  many  artists  now 
maintain  studios  in  this  picturesque  pueblo.  Owing  to  the  great  dis- 
tances between  these  art  colonies  there  has  been  no  concentrated  effort 
and  the  struggle  has  been  single-handed,  which  has  made  the  artist 
self-reliant  and  has  tended  to  develop  strong  individuality  and  original- 
ity in  his  work. 

Experiments  in  paint  are  met  with  on  every  hand  and  many  of  these 
are  highly  successful  and  give  promise  of  brilliant  fulfillment  in  the 
near  future.  The  influence  of  the  extreme  modernists  is  also  making 
itself  felt  in  the  work  of  many  California  painters.  In  a  recent  annual 
exhibition  of  the  California  Art  Club  in  Los  Angeles  not  less  than 
twenty  canvases  were  exhibited  that  bore  the  stamp  of  Henri  and  his 
"school."  We  are  living  in  an  experimental  age  and  that  restless  spirit 
that  is  beating  upon  the  bars  of  established  methods  is  leaving  its  effect 
upon  present-day  painting  in  California.  It  may  lead  to  argument  when 
I  state,  as  truth  forces  me  to  do,  that  art  conditions  have  never  been 
more  experimental,  the  development  so  unsettled,  or  the  general  trend 
so  encouraging  as  at  the  present  time.  A  strange  paradox,  my  masters, 
but  one  we  are  brought  to  confess,  for  we  are  launching  upon  a  new 
era  in  our  native  art  and  the  harvest  is  bound  to  be  a  golden  one  indeed. 


CALIFORNIA'S  PLACE  IN  ART 


By  PORTER  GARNETT 

WHAT  IS  CALIFORNIA'S  place  in  art?  If  we  are  to  believe  certain 
exuberant  journalists  and  others,  art,  in  common  with  all  other 
desirable  things,  has  its  place  in  the  native  son,  and  presents 
there,  for  the  eyes  of  an  admiring  world,  a  record  of  brilliant  achieve- 
ment. But  such  chauvanism  as  this  breeds  complacency  and  raises  a 
barrier  against  enlightenment.  We  must  discourage  ourselves  in  order 
that  we  may  be  strong. 

It  would  be  well,  therefore,  to  admit  at  once  that,  whatever  local  pride 
may  prompt  some  to  say,  California  is  both  too  young  and  too  remote 
to  have  produced  very  much  art  of  a  high  order.  Viewing  the  matter 
abstractly,  it  is  illogical  to  assume  that  she  has.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand, 
an  examination  of  the  concrete  data  seems  to  establish  the  fact  that, 
through  her  painters  and  sculptors,  California  has,  in  spite  of  both  youth 
and  remoteness,  produced  some  really  notable  art,  it  is  the  more  to  her 
credit  thus  to  have  overcome  her  handicaps.  The  burden  of  proof,  how- 
ever, is  on  us. 

Now,  while  California  has  undoubtedly  produced  art,  she  has  not  pro- 
duced an  art;  that  is  to  say,  there  is  not  yet  an  art  that  is  characteristi- 
cally Californian  and  at  the  same  time  universal.  This,  indeed,  America 
has  not  yet  done,  and  it  is  for  this  that  we  wait.  Before  a  country  or  a 
community  can  be  said  to  have  produced  an  art  of  its  own,  its  artists 
must  show  a  native  strain  in  their  work.  Such  a  strain  can  be  developed 
only  by  the  constant  recurrence  of  the  note  of  freshness,  and  it  is  this 
note  that  we  more  and  more  feel  is  coming  into  Californian  art  and 
shaping  it  to  its  larger  destiny. 

Artists,  born  and  reared  in  California,  and  those  who  have  settled 
down  in  this  amiable  land  of  ours  to  follow  their  noble  but  precarious 
vocation,  may  paint  with  ability  and  even  with  distinction,  but  the  fact 
that  they  are  Californians  by  birth  or  adoption  does  not  make  their  art 
Californian.  They  may — and  many  do — represent  California,  but  how 
many  of  them  express  California?  Be  that  as  it  may,  we  are  concerned 
with  what  California  has  achieved  and  is  achieving  in  art,  with  what  she 
has  to  offer  of  art  which  the  world  may  find  interesting.  Much  is  to  be 
discarded  at  once  as  quite  other  than  art;  skilfully  painted  pictures,  per- 
haps, and  cleverly  modeled  sculpture,  things  that  are  "pretty"  enough 
in  their  way  and  unquestionably  popular,  but  which  bear  no  closer  rela- 
tion to  art  than  good  hand  writing  bears  to  literature.  Honest  criticism 
must  reject  this  clutter  of  unart,  which  is  suffered  to  exist  only  through 


40 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


ignorance  and  sentiment,  and  concern  itself  only  with  that  which 
demands  serious  consideration. 

In  the  appraisement  of  recognizable  art,  the  critic  must  have  his 
gauges  and  standards.  What  are  they?  Behind  this  simple  but  ominous 
query  stand  two  other  questions  more  ominous  still.  These  are,  "What 
is  criticism?"  and,  "What  is  art?"  The  first  of  these  questions  is 
answered  in  part  by  the  truism  that  criticism  is  personal  opinion.  But 
while  one  who  professes  to  criticise  may  make  this  admission  readily 
enough,  he  may  still  insist  that  criticism  rests  upon  what  are,  for  him  at 
least,  definite  principles.  Nor  will  the  most  ardent  foe  of  criticism — no 
matter  how  young  he  may  be — deny  that  a  distinction  exists  between 
enlightened  and  unenlightened  opinion. 

What,  then,  are  the  gauges  and  standards  of  the  critic?  What  are  his 
so-called  principles?  What  are  the  things  he  looks  for  in  a  work  of  art? 
What  qualities  must  it  possess  before  it  appeals  to  him?  What,  in  a 
word,  is  art? 

The  question  has  been  answered  a  thousand  times  and  in  a  thousand 
ways,  and  it  has  not  been  answered  at  all  nor  will  it  ever  be.  There  can 
be  no  agreement  upon  the  subject  of  art.  We  can  only  say  what  it  means 
to  us  as  individuals.  That  is  why  it  intrigues  the  imagination  more  than 
morality,  about  which  there  can  be  only  two  opinions,  or  than  mathe- 
matics, about  which  there  can  be  only  one.  Before  commenting,  there- 
fore, on  the  work  of  Californian  artists,  I  propose  to  state,  very  briefly 
and  apologetically,  what  art  means  to  me.  That  my  readers  will  disagree 
from  me  goes  without  saying,  but,  at  least,  they  will  understand  my  point 
of  view. 

To  be  vital  and  permanent  a  work  of  art  (it  seems  to  me)  must,  in  the 
first  place,  bear  evidence  that  its  author  possesses  each  of  three  things, 
intellect,  passion,  and  skill.  Intellect  and  skill  without  passion  give  us 
only  cold  academicism,  passion  and  skill  without  intellect  fail  to  appeal 
to  our  intelligence,  intellect  and  passion  without  skill  are  inarticulate. 
In  the  presence  of  a  work  of  art,  we  must  therefore  look  for  these  three 
qualities,  the  absence  of  any  one  of  which  renders  a  painting  or  piece  of 
sculpture  merely  a  futile  exercise.  This  is  but  a  primary  test,  but  it  is 
to  this  primary  test  that  the  works  of  Californian  artists  must  first  of  all 
be  put,  in  order  that  their  primary  significance  may  be  appraised.  Who 
among  our  painters  and  sculptors,  past  and  present,  will,  in  your  opinion, 
pass  the  test?  That  is  the  question. 

Having  applied  this  primary  test  to  our  artists,  and  having,  let  us  say, 
found  in  the  productions  of  this  one  and  of  that  one  the  qualities  of  mind, 
emotion,  and  technique,  it  still  remains  to  be  determined  whether,  as 
works  of  art,  they  are  important  or  merely  interesting. 

If  this  primary  test  is  based  upon  what  may,  without  a  too  violent 
wrenching  of  the  term,  be  called  principles,  attempts  at  an  ultimate 
appraisement  are  conditioned  by  factors  of  judgment  more  subtle  and 
even  less  exact.  Let  us  first  see  what  these  factors  of  judgment  are,  and, 
then,  what  results  we  obtain  when  we  apply  them  to  Californian  art. 


CALIFORNIA'S    PLACE    IN  ART 


41 


In  what  degree,  we  ask  ourselves,  is  the  work  of  a  certain  artist  original 
— creative?  What  is  the  ratio  between  his  personal  contribution  and  his 
imitativeness — his  debt  to  tradition?  His  work  shows  intellect,  emotion, 
and  skill,  but  are  we  forced  by  it  to  admit  that  he  has  vision?  Do  we  find 
in  his  work  an  in-dwelling  beauty,  or  is  its  beauty  only  a  matter  of 
externals — of  convention?  Does  his  picture  move  us  or  does  it  leave  us 
cold?  Is  it  an  evocation?  Contemplating  it,  are  we  made  conscious  that 
its  creation  was  a  matter  of  artistic  moment?  Do  we  take  from  such 
contemplation  a  sense  that  the  work  of  art  was  produced  emotionally? 
That  it  was  deeply  felt?  That  the  artist  in  passing  his  brush  over  the 
canvas  or  his  modeling  tool  over  the  clay  was  performing  a  creative  and 
not  merely  a  deft  mechanical  operation?  Does  he,  like  Nature,  deal 
with  color  or  is  he  only  a  manipulator  of  paint?  Is  his  work  a  presenta- 
tion or  only  a  representation?  If  a  portrait,  does  it  make  us  feel  in  the 
presence  of  the  sitter?  If  a  landscape,  are  we  transported  spiritually 
to  the  scene  itself? 

By  such  criteria  we  may  determine  the  degree  in  which  an  artist  is 
truly  creative;  that  is  to  say,  truly  an  artist,  for  only  through  an  exercise 
of  the  creative  function  can  a  painter  or  sculptor  produce  work  that  is 
vital  and  permanent.  The  creative  function  is  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  the  expression  of  the  godlike  in  man.  Who,  therefore,  among  our 
Californian  artists  may  be  credited  with  the  godlike  quality?  Who  are 
our  true  artists — our  supermen? 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  observe  that  these  considerations  leave 
out  entirely  the  question  of  the  special  criteria  that  must  be  employed 
in  the  judgment  of  the  various  schools  and  various  types  of  painting  from 
that  of  the  primitives  to  that  of  the  futurists.  We  are  dealing  here  solely 
with  those  fundamental  criteria  by  which  the  art  content  of  all  expres- 
sions of  art — ancient  and  modern,  classic,  romantic  and  realistic,  Italian, 
Chinese  or  Californian — may  be  measured.  By  these  criteria  California's 
place  in  art  must  be  determined.  The  reader  is  urged  to  apply  them 
for  himself. 

Californian  art  should  not  be  judged  in  relation,  let  us  say,  to  the  art 
of  America,  nor  in  relation  to  the  contemporary  art  of  the  world,  but  in 
relation  to  all  art — to  the  art  of  all  time.  Which  of  our  artists,  we  should 
ask  ourselves,  have  so  much  of  the  stuff  of  eternity  in  them  that  the  col- 
lectors and  archeologists — the  Meyers-Graffs,  the  Berensens,  the  Valen- 
tiners,  and  the  Clapps — of  the  future  will  concern  themselves  with 
their  work? 

That  the  prediction  of  permanent  fame  for  an  artist  in  any  branch  of 
art  can  only  be  guess  work  is  a  notion  that  has  received  wide  accep- 
tance. We  know,  of  course,  that  recognition  has  come  to  many  artists — 
particularly  to  the  great  innovators — only  after  death;  but  history  affords 
abundant  instances  of  artists  who  have  received  in  their  lifetime  the 
fullest  meed  of  appreciation  and  whose  works  have  survived  the  ages. 
Are  we  to  assume,  therefore,  that  the  correctness  or  incorrectness  of 
contemporary  opinion  is  a  matter  of  accident?  We  know  that  contem- 


42 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


porary  reputations  are  based  very  often  upon  the  flimsy  foundation  of 
personal  advertising  and  exploitation  and  that  what  passes  for  criticism 
is  born  frequently  of  the  most  flagrant  collusion.  But  we  know  also  that 
reputations  do  sometimes  blessedly  grow  without  forcing  and  that  what 
the  world  at  first  takes  to  be  a  weed  proves  in  the  end  to  be  a  perennial 
flower.  In  such  cases  we  see  public  opinion  developing  naturally  from 
critical  opinion.  We  know,  moreover,  that  even  when  genius  has  been 
unrecognized  until  after  the  human  vessel  that  contained  it  is  no  more, 
it  has  often  been  revealed  that  some  contemporary  champion  had 
acclaimed  the  truth,  albeit  to  deaf  ears.  Is  it,  therefore,  all  guess  work? 
Is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  contemporary  opinion,  which  has 
been  as  often  right  as  wrong,  may  foretell  the  permanence  of  an  artist's 
work  by  applying  to  its  appraisement,  not  the  vacillating  standards  of 
fashion  and  public  favor,  but  the  principles  of  discrimination,  which 
receive  their  light  from  life,  from  history,  and  from  science,  but  most 
of  all  from  the  spirit.  If,  for  example,  we  find  in  the  sculpture  of 
Mr.  Arthur  Putnam  the  elements  of  intellect,  feeling,  and  skill,  conjoined 
in  a  sort  of  glorious  polygamy;  if  his  sculpture  affects  the  sensitive 
observer  emotionally;  if  in  contemplating  it  we  are  made  to  feel  that  it 
came  into  existence  under  an  emotion  profoundly  felt;  if  beneath  its 
vigor  we  feel  its  maker's  strength,  and  beneath  its  beauty  the  rareness 
of  his  vision;  if  from  its  reticences  we  infer  a  beauty  subtler  still  because 
only  half  expressed;  if  the  artist's  passion  for  his  art  is  never  threatened 
by  the  chill  of  virtuosity;  and,  finally,  if  comparing  Mr.  Putnam's  sculp- 
ture, not  with  contemporary  sculpture  only,  but  with  the  best  sculpture 
of  the  past,  it  takes  its  place  and  holds  felicitously  its  own;  is  it  rash  to 
aver  that  here  we  have  great  art — art  that  will  live? 

Mr.  Putnam,  while  still  young,  has  been  obliged  by  illness  to  cease 
work;  what  finer  things  he  might  have  accomplished  in  an  unabridged 
career  we  can  not,  of  course,  tell,  but  by  his  past  achievements  Cali- 
fornia's place  in  art  is  assured.  Widespread  recognition  and  apprecia- 
tion have  come  to  him  during  his  lifetime,  yet  time  was  when  this 
appreciation  was  confined  to  a  very  small  circle  indeed.  Who  knows 
but  that  some  artist  to  whom,  unlike  Mr.  Putnam,  recognition  has  not  yet 
been  accorded,  may  become  in  time  a  famous  Californian.  Such  a  one, 
if  I  may  be  permitted  to  indulge  in  a  little  critical  guess  work,  might  well 
be  Mr.  Edward  McKnight  Kauffer,  who,  though  scarcely  known  here, 
accounts  himself  a  Californian  because  it  was  in  California  that  he  first 
heard  the  voice  that  called  him  to  art.  Mr.  Kauffer  is  the  most  pro- 
nounced modernist  we  have  among  our  painters  (if  indeed  we  still  can 
claim  him  as  ours)  and  it  is  as  an  exponent  of  the  modern  idiom  per- 
sonally interpreted  that  he  is  likely  to  establish  his  reputation. 

The  work  of  the  late  Arthur  Atkins  displays  qualities  which  must 
inevitably  direct  to  him  and  to  California,  where  chiefly  he  labored,  the 
attention  of  persons  who  concern  themselves  with  the  vital  and  signifi- 
cant phenomena  of  art.  This  youth,  with  his  rare  gifts  of  vision  and 
lyrical  expression,  passed  before  his  genius  was  realized;  he  remains  to 


CALIFORNIA'S    PLACE    IN  ART 


43 


this  day  unrecognized  save  by  the  few.  Yet  some  of  us  believe  that 
Arthur  Atkins  will  yet  bring  to  California  the  truest  distinction  that  any 
of  her  artists  will  bring  to  her.  He  has  already  associated  California  in 
the  minds  of  men  in  older  civilizations  with  those  things  which,  in  older 
civilizations,  are  recognized  as  the  graces  of  the  artistic  spirit.  He  has 
gained  for  California  artistic  prestige  among  the  few  (outside  of  Cali- 
fornia) who  know  his  work;  but  they  are  the  few  whose  good  opinion 
is  worth  far  more  than  publicity  and  premature  repute.  His  message 
has  not  reached  many,  but  those  to  whom  it  has  pervened  know  him  for 
their  kinsman  in  art.  The  distinction  that  Arthur  Atkins  is  destined  to 
bring  to  California  is  hers  now;  it  has  merely  not  been  recognized.  And 
yet  some  there  were  who  realized  this  when,  in  the  nineties,  young  Atkins 
was  doing  his  work  here,  quietly  and  earnestly,  not  always  with  confi- 
dence, not  always  with  joy,  but  always  with  humility.  His  paintings  are 
of  an  alluring  beauty.  They  are  filled  with  the  wonder  of  beauty.  They 
make  one  realize  the  gulf  that  separates  the  facts  of  art  from  the  mystery 
of  art.  They  show  us  Nature  poured  through  the  sensitive  spirit  of 
the  artist  from  which  it  emerges  transfigured.  Some  years  ago  a  fire 
destroyed  many  of  the  Atkins  paintings.  Still  others  were  lost  in  the 
disaster  of  1906.  Some  day,  perhaps,  most  of  those  that  remain  will  be 
gathered  in  a  permanent  memorial  exhibition.  When  that  happens, 
California  can  take  to  herself  both  pride  and  honor,  for  she  can  then 
show  to  the  world  that  to  which  the  world  will  render  homage. 

Having  premised  that  California's  place  in  art  must  be  determined  by 
the  creativeness  and  universality  implicit  in  the  work  of  our  artists,  I 
shall  not  presume  in  this  article  to  offer,  as  anticipating  the  verdict  of 
time,  any  further  critical  conclusions.  I  shall  content  myself  rather 
with  recording  a  few  more  or  less  salient  achievements  in  which 
familiarity  has  created  for  me  a  genuine  interest.  As  to  whether  or  not 
the  performances  touched  upon  in  this  necessarily  brief  and  incomplete 
record  represent  the  material  by  which  California's  place  in  art  shall  be 
determined,  opinions  will  vary — as  opinions  always  do.  I  shall  leave  to 
other  and  abler  hands  the  categorical  examination  of  Californian  art. 

There  are  at  the  present  time  in  our  state  hundreds  of  persons  prac- 
ticing the  arts  of  painting  and  sculpture  with  whose  work  I  am  not  suffi- 
ciently familiar  to  offer  an  opinion  upon  it.  This  is  particularly  true  of 
the  artists  of  Southern  California,  among  whom,  however,  I  must  men- 
tion, even  in  this  restricted  survey,  Miss  Helen  Dunlap.  The  pictures  of 
this  artist  are  remarkable  examples  of  painting  under  the  modern  experi- 
mental impulse,  so  sincerely  felt  by  some  artists,  so  purely  imitative 
in  the  work  of  others. 

To  other  pens  also  I  must  leave  the  adequate  treatment  of  such  artists 
of  the  past  as  Jules  Tavernier,  Thomas  Hill,  Julian  Rix,  and  William 
Keith.  The  last  of  these  has  been  for  many  years  held  in  the  highest 
local  regard.  Many  persons  do  not  for  a  moment  question  his  preemi- 
nence among  Californian  painters.  In  his  best  work,  Keith  carries  on 
in  a  notable  and  interesting  manner  the  Barbizon  tradition,  particularly 


44 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


as  we  find  it  expressed  in  the  painting  of  Diaz.  His  transcripts  of 
nature  are  touched  with  poetry,  but  they  display  less  refinement,  less 
charm,  and  less  individuality  than  the  landscapes  of  Innes  with  whom 
he  is  frequently  compared.  Mr.  C.  D.  Robinson,  the  only  survivor  of  the 
older  generation  of  Californian  artists,  still  surprises  us  at  times  with 
paintings  of  a  most  accomplished  character.  No  one  in  California  has 
painted  marines  so  variously  or  so  well. 

It  is  perhaps  significant  that  persons  of  credible  discrimination  in 
matters  of  art,  who  have  visited  us  from  the  East  and  from  Europe — 
persons  unfamiliar  with  the  work  of  Californian  artists — have  not  infre- 
quently expressed  the  opinion  that  among  our  painters  Mr.  Xavier  Mar- 
tinez strikes  the  most  authentic  note.  Painting  under  the  canon  of 
Whistler  and  with  certain  qualities  in  common  with  Carriere,  Mr.  Mar- 
tinez has,  yet,  a  distinct  individuality  of  manner  and,  at  his  best,  a 
control  of  color,  tone,  and  technique  which  command  admiration.  No 
painter  in  California  has  more  closely  approached  universality  in  his 
art,  none  may  be  said  to  represent  a  particular  school  more  completely. 
His  best  pictures  are  perfectly  delivered,  and  with  this  perfection  of 
delivery  is  combined  an  unfailing  artistic  vision.  He  is  essentially  a 
painters'  painter.  He  is  too  sincere  to  be  popular  in  the  fullest  sense,  too 
much  of  an  artist  to  be  insincere.  He  is  a  painter  in  whose  skill  other 
painters  must  perforce  recognize  mastery.  By  the  same  token  he  appeals 
to  the  connoisseur.  His  most  casual  sketch  inevitably  arrests  the  atten- 
tion of  persons  of  taste  and  perception.  He  touches  nothing  without 
giving  it  the  impress  of  an  artistic  consciousness.  His  painting  is  strong 
with  the  strength  of  boldness  and  depth,  yet  it  can  not  be  called  vigorous 
because  it  is  always  tempered  with  poetic  reserve.  Low  in  key  and 
subtle  in  values,  his  pictures  express  in  tone  and  color  something  of 
what  such  poets  as  Stephane  Mallarme  and  Henri  de  Regnier  express  in 
the  nuances  of  their  musical  verbiage — that  sheer  beauty  of  rhythm 
which  must  ever  be  the  despair  of  poets  in  our  grosser  tongue. 

We  see  the  antithesis  of  the  painting  of  Mr.  Martinez  in  the  art  of  Miss 
Anne  Bremer,  who,  in  spite  of  her  unevenness,  is  one  of  California's  best 
painters.  Miss  Bremer  has  adopted  the  post-impressionist  idiom  and 
paints  in  it  with  skill  and,  at  times,  with  distinction.  She  has  discovered 
how  to  see  somewhat  as  Cezanne  saw,  but  she  has  been  unwilling  to  wear 
the  spectacles  of  Matisse. 

There  are  many  who  declare  unhesitatingly  (such  are  the  vagaries  of 
taste  and  opinion)  that  to  Mr.  Arthur  Mathews  belongs,  without  question, 
the  distinction  of  being  California's  foremost  painter.  Mr.  Mathews 
paints  with  knowledge  and  with  the  confidence  of  knowledge.  In  com- 
position, and  particularly  in  design,  his  work  is  always  interesting.  His 
sunlight  is  the  sunlight  of  Northern  latitudes,  and  his  dusk  is — sometimes 
— the  dusk  of  Fairyland.  His  figures  have  a  classic  character  yet  they 
are  freely  and  personally  rendered.  One  does  not,  however,  feel  that 
the  light  flows  around  them  nor  that  bodies  always  exist  under  the 
splendid  raiment.  His  style  is  mellow  rather  than  athletic;  it  is  a  thought- 


CALIFORNIA'S    PLACE    IN  ART 


45 


out  style,  academic  in  its  interior  quality  and  unanimated,  but,  in  his 
decorations,  pleasantly  made  the  vehicle  of  an  orderly  and  dignified 
imagination.  There  is  not  an  artist  in  California  who  might  not  learn 
something  from  Mr.  Mathews. 

In  the  water  color  paintings  of  Mr.  Francis  McComas,  California  has 
unquestionably  one  of  its  soundest  claims  to  artistic  distinction. 

(Maugre  a  most  conscientious  effort  to  avoid  the  vainglorious  attitude, 
the  list  of  the  praiseworthy  grows) . 

The  reputation  of  this  artist  as  a  painter  of  exceptional  ability  in  water 
color  has  been  long  established  in  America,  and  he  has  received  flatter- 
ing recognition  in  England.  He  may  be  considered,  indeed,  one  of  the 
really  important  water  colorists  of  the  present  day.  Though,  at  times, 
failing  of  that  romantic  charm  which  distinguishes  his  more  character- 
istic work,  his  painting,  even  in  its  less  artistic  because  more  literal 
expressions,  is  always  marked  by  a  masterly  control  of  his  medium. 
He  uses  his  tools  not  with  the  easy  expertness  of  the  dry  technician,  but 
with  style  and  personality.  Only  when  his  performances  are  considered 
in  their  interesting  variety  are  we  able  fully  to  realize  the  important 
fact  that  while  developing  an  individual  style,  he  has  achieved  something 
far  more  significant  because  far  more  difficult  and  much  more  rare.  He 
has,  in  a  word,  successfully  expressed  the  diversity  of  Nature  as  it  exists 
in  different  countries  and  climates.  Thus,  his  painting  of  the  oaks  in  the 
New  Forest  does  not  remind  us  in  the  least  of  his  Monterey  oaks,  and  in 
his  L'Isle  d'Ulysse,  his  Grecian  temples,  his  bridge  at  Ronda,  his  gardens 
of  Granada,  his  mesas  of  the  Southwestern  desert  we  are  made  to  feel 
that  he  has  caught  and  subtly  interpreted  not  only  the  character  of  Cali- 
fornia, but  the  aspects  and  atmosphere  of  the  Adriatic  and  of  Greece,  of 
Spain,  and  of  New  Mexico.  It  should  be  understood  that  in  art,  or,  for 
that  matter,  in  literature,  cherry  blossoms  do  not  express  Japan,  gon- 
dolas do  not  express  Venice;  mantillas,  Spain;  nor  snow,  Switzerland. 
If  California  had  more  painters  like  Mr.  McComas  we  would  not  only 
have  art,  but — as  I  was  moved  to  deny  at  the  beginning  of  this  article — 
we  would  also  have  an  art — an  art  at  once  Californian  and  universal. 

Mr.  Ralph  Stackpole,  the  sculptor,  has  achieved,  particularly  in  his 
portraits,  some  distinctly  notable  things.  He  maintains,  modestly  and 
consistently,  the  attitude  of  the  student,  but  one  may  see  in  his  work  a 
vivid  and  delicate  quality,  expressed  with  freshness  and  freedom.  He 
seems  to  catch  the  subtler  and  more  evanescent  shades  of  expression 
that  underlie  true  portraiture,  and  interprets  them  with  a  free,  per- 
sonal, and  dextrous  technique. 

One  must  feel  that  Mr.  Rruce  Porter's  frugality  of  production  has 
robbed  California  of  much  that,  were  he  less  reticent,  might  have  con- 
tributed notably  to  the  art  of  our  community.  His  painting  is  marked  by 
an  essential  refinement,  in  which  quality  it  stands  locally  unchallenged. 
More  important,  however,  because  more  profound,  is  this  artist's  spir- 
itualized rendering  of  perceived  relations  of  spatiality,  shape,  and  mass 
— that  Tightness  of  design  which  is  the  basis  of  all  great  painting.  His 


4G 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


color  is  distinguished  and  lovely,  and  his  style  is  characterized  by  an 
enlightened  naturalness,  without  trick  or  artificiality  of  any  sort. 

Mr.  Maurice  Delmue,  with  his  charming  sensitiveness  to  the  dignity 
of  nature;  Mr.  Charles  Rollo  Peters,  with  his  subtly  atmospheric  moon- 
lights; Miss  Charlton  Fortune,  a  colorist  in  whose  best  work  one  may 
see  the  poetic  quality  shining  through  a  technical  manner  at  once  deli- 
cate, bold,  and  assured;  Mr.  Armin  Hansen's  vigorous  and  often  masterly 
realism;  the  individualistic  and  memorable  decorations  of  Mr.  Gottardo 
Piazzoni — all  these  present  arresting  aspects  of  art. 

If  the  reader  will  examine  the  reproductions  in  this  volume  of  works 
by  the  artists  I  have  named  in  this  necessarily  incomplete  review,  he 
will  find,  I  feel  sure,  even  in  the  inadequacy  of  black  and  white,  a  body 
of  art  that  is  both  representative  and  noteworthy.  Let  us  hope  that  by 
such  achievements  of  her  artists  California's  assumption  of  a  high  place 
in  art  may  be  made  to  appear  more  substantial  than  naive. 


PRIMITIVE  ART  IN  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA 


By  HECTOR  ALLIOT 


HAT  THE  FINE  ARTS  will  accomplish  in  Southern  California  in 


the  near  future  is  of  glorious  promise,  but  as  yet  a  matter  of  con- 


™  "  jecture.  It  depends  very  largely  upon  the  development  of  latent 
racial  ability  induced  into  flowering  by  favorable  environment. 

It  is  only  by  the  study  of  the  past  that  one  can  somewhat  forecast  the 
achievement  of  the  new  school,  which  is  now  in  process  of  formation. 
To  the  present  time  the  highest  expression  of  the  arts  in  California  has 
been  reached  by  men  and  women  of  talent,  trained  chiefly  in  European 
schools,  a  majority  of  them  of  foreign  birth  or  parentage.  In  vain  does 
one  scan  the  brilliant  record  of  the  past  twenty-five  years  for  the  name 
of  one  artist  of  distinction  who  was  born  and  received  his  art  education 
in  our  great  state.  Yet  the  suitable  environment  for  the  development  of 
a  characteristic  art  expression  has  always  existed  in  Southern  California 
to  a  marked  degree. 

Latin,  Celtic,  Germanic,  and  Oriental  elements  are  meeting  in  Los 
Angeles,  one  of  the  most  cosmopolitan  centers  of  this  country.  There 
under  the  cloudless  sky,  close  to  the  encircling  Sierras,  and  with  nature's 
boundless  beauties  on  all  sides  stretching  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific, 
we  may  hope  to  see  evolve  within  this  century  the  Florence  of  the 
new  world.  It  needs  only  a  greater  cohesion  of  ideals  to  produce  there 
a  new  plain-air  school  of  international  scope  and  character.  That 
environment  will  lend  a  distinctive  element  to  that  school  is  without 
question,  just  as  decades  ago  it  influenced  the  architecture  of  the  mis- 
sions, entitling  those  primitive  devotional  structures  to  an  honored  place 
among  the  history-making  phases  of  constructive  art. 

At  a  gathering  of  California  architects,  a  well-known  Eastern  authority 
stated  that  what  we  were  pleased  to  term  our  "mission  style  of  archi- 
tecture" was  a  degenerate  product,  devoid  of  artistic  merit.  It  is  almost 
incredible  that  one  engaged  in  the  architect's  profession  should  fail  to 
grant  recognition  to  the  California  mission  style  on  technical  grounds 
alone,  apart  from  its  historical  importance  as  having  been  the  earliest 
form  adopted  for  the  erection  of  public  edifices  in  the  West.  Aside 
from  mere  sentimentalism,  mission  architecture  was  not  simply  the 
degenerate  descendant  of  the  Spanish  colonial  style,  introduced  into 
Mexico.  That  it  was  first  cousin  to  that  style — young,  vigorous,  and  dis- 
tinctive, if  somewhat  crude — there  is  no  doubt;  but  it  had  its  distin- 
guishing features,  several  of  which,  like  the  terraced  bell  tower  and  the 
serrated  ascent  of  the  curved  arch  bearing  the  cross,  were  entirely 
original. 


48 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


In  the  erection  of  those  first  Roman  Catholic  houses  of  worship  on 
the  shores  of  California,  necessity  compelled  the  good  fathers  to  revert 
to  the  first  principles  of  architecture  laid  down  nearly  two  thousand 
years  ago  by  Vitruvius  in  three  words,  expressing  all  that  constructive 
art  should  embrace :  utility,  solidity,  beauty. 

There  was  little  wood  on  the  California  coast,  and  the  Indian  con- 
verts were  unacquainted  with  carpentry  and  lacked  the  necessary  tools. 
The  Jesuit  fathers  had  encountered  the  same  difficulties  in  establishing 
their  first  missions  on  the  arid  slopes  of  Lower  California.  Junipero 
Serra,  therefore,  followed  the  example  of  the  athletic  and  picturesque 
Juan  Ogarte,  and  taught  the  Indians  to  make  sun-dried  bricks  of  native 
clay.  Owing  to  the  lack  of  other  materials,  these  adobe  bricks  were 
used  in  making  thick  walls,  which  were  reinforced  at  the  corners  by 
pyramidal  buttresses.  The  ornamental  Spanish  and  Moorish  doors  and 
windows,  which  were  a  graceful  feature  of  the  buildings,  were  designed 
from  the  memory  he  had  of  those  seen  at  home,  or  copied  from  illus- 
trated books  he  had  brought  with  him,  modified  necessarily  to  meet 
the  possibilities  of  the  material  at  hand. 

The  Indians  of  this  coast  were  singularly  gentle  and  childlike.  They 
learned  readily  the  crafts  and  industries  the  fathers  taught  them,  and 
while  the  first  of  the  mission  structures  were  almost  primitive  in  their 
simplicity,  as  the  natives,  under  the  guidance  of  the  gentle  fathers, 
became  more  skilful  in  their  arts,  the  buildings  became  architecturally 
beautiful.  While  adobe  construction  was  a  thing  of  necessity,  and  the 
arrangement  of  the  structure  about  a  central  square  was  a  wise  safe- 
guard, distinctive  variations  lent  individual  character  to  each  building. 

Mission  architecture  was  essentially  suited  to  broad  acres;  it  needed 
space  and  freedom.  Its  natural  beauty  of  line  and  mass  would  be 
entirely  lost  crowded  in  amongst  modern  structures.  It  was  the  archi- 
tecture of  out-of-doors,  containing  manse,  monastery,  and  sanctuary 
all  in  one.  It  would  almost  seem  that  the  graceful  curves  of  the  massive 
hills  had  suggested  it,  so  admirably  does  it  adapt  itself  to  the  setting  of 
green  fields  of  spring  or  the  golden  brown  of  summer;  the  very  contours 
of  its  arches  seemed  but  a  natural  complement  of  its  surroundings,  while 
the  imposing  domes  and  bell-towers  imparted  dignity  and  repose. 

It  was  through  native  handiwork  that  the  mission  style  of  archi- 
tecture was  created,  under  the  able  guidance  of  Junipero  Serra  and  his 
followers.  It  was  only  in  their  attempts  to  embellish  their  structures 
with  decorations  and  displays  of  craftsmanship  that  the  builders  of 
the  missions  failed  to  produce  praiseworthy  results.  The  padres  knew 
little  or  nothing  of  drawing,  less  of  color  effects.  They  originated  nothing 
new  in  interior  decorations,  because  of  their  limited  knowledge  of  the 
arts  and  lack  of  skill.  Naturally,  their  minds  reverted  to  the  visions  of 
the  marvelous  interiors  of  the  Spanish  cathedrals — Burgos  the  beauti- 
ful, or  the  majestic  Seville.  Hazy  memories  of  those  glories  guided 
unskilled  fingers  in  attempts  to  reproduce  what  had  once  been  fashioned 
by  master  hands,  so  that  their  decorative  effects  had  all  the  crudities  of 
the  products  of  primitive  minds. 


PRIMITIVE    ART    IN    SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA 


49 


In  art,  as  in  everything  else,  however,  the  underlying  motives  must 
be  considered,  and  since  the  Franciscan  monks  earnestly  endeavored  to 
beautify  the  naves  of  their  churches  as  best  they  could  with  the  limited 
material  at  hand,  although  they  failed  artistically,  their  efforts  are 
worthy  of  consideration  and  respect.  The  somewhat  ornately  carved 
beams  of  some  of  the  churches  illustrate  the  spirit  of  reverent  senti- 
ment that  actuated  the  workmen,  the  devotional  love  for  their  holy 
places  prompting  the  natives  to  bestow  an  infinite  amount  of  care  upon 
the  carving  and  to  paint  elaborately  each  beam. 

The  paintings  that  adorned  the  walls  of  the  missions  were  childlike 
in  their  crudity,  yet  primitive  dexterity  and  man's  inborn  power  of 
imitation  have  seldom  been  more  strongly  exemplified  than  in  some  of 
those  ancient  canvases.  In  one  of  the  halls  of  the  Southwest  Museum 
of  Los  Angeles  the  simple  effort  of  some  unknown  artist,  imbued  with 
religious  zeal  and  an  irresistible  desire  for  pictorial  expression  thereof, 
has  furnished  us  an  interesting  link  with  that  romantic  past.  On  a 
coarse  canvas  this  California  primitive  painted  with  the  crudest  of  pig- 
ments his  poetical,  if  ignorant,  conception  of  The  Nativity.  It  does  not 
compare  badly  with  the  work  of  the  Homeric  ceramists,  before  they 
knew  anything  of  perspective  or  chiaroscuro,  it  would  not  put  to  shame 
the  early  Lombardian  decorators  or  the  mosaicists  of  the  ninth  century. 
That  the  artist  was  an  aborigine,  a  Mexican,  or  a  Spaniard,  is  as  dif- 
ficult to  determine  as  that  his  work  was  the  early  effort  of  an  artist 
that  was  to  be,  or  the  best  expression  of  an  untrained  but  enthusiastic 
craftsman. 

Earlier  still  we  find  the  Stations  of  the  Cross,  done  with  raw  colors 
by  aborigines,  converted  to  Christianity.  While  these  old  Indian  paint- 
ings are  not  great  works  of  art,  in  the  modern  sense,  as  the  most  ornate 
and  complex  decorations  produced  by  natives  at  that  time,  they  hold  a 
place  unique  in  the  history  of  Western  art.  Their  color  scheme  was 
of  the  simplest — white,  black,  red,  green,  and  blue.  The  colors  employed 
were  such  as  were  used  for  fresco  work,  containing  no  oil  mixer,  and 
may  have  been  imported  from  Spain  or  manufactured  by  the  Indians 
themselves,  as  it  is  known  they  made  use  of  natural  colors  for  other 
purposes.  The  faces  have  the  quaintness  of  prehistoric  sculpture  or  rock 
paintings.  While  the  general  effect,  in  spite  of  all  their  crudities,  sug- 
gests strongly  the  "Stations  of  the  Cross"  familiar  to  all  Catholic  houses 
of  worship,  the  unskilled  artist  has  introduced  original  elements  into 
these  canvases  that  indicate  a  certain  independence  of  art  expression, 
and  the  influence  of  environment  upon  an  sesthetic,  if  primitive,  mind. 

Painting  was  little  practiced  by  the  natives  of  California  belonging  to 
that  indefinite  time  designated  as  "pre-historic."  They  knew  only  four 
colors  —  red,  yellow,  green,  and  black  —  produced  by  natural  oxides. 
They  had  no  knowledge  of  any  binding  substance,  and  if  they  were 
moved  by  an  artistic  instinct  to  attempt  to  depict  the  beauties  of  nature 
or  man's  achievements,  their  pictographs  either  faded  or  were  destroyed 
by  the  elements.  It  is  only  in  a  cave  found  in  the  central  part  of  Santa 


50 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Catalina  Island,  that  some  acceptable  specimens  of  their  very  indifferent 
pictorial  efforts  are  to  be  found. 

In  that  illy-defined  period  of  aboriginal  culture,  however,  uninfluenced 
by  the  white  man's  artistic  or  religious  ideals,  we  find  that  Southern 
California  was — centuries  ago — the  home  of  a  fascinating  art  production 
in  sculpture,  long  before  Balboa  discovered  the  Pacific. 

The  stone  age  man,  especially  the  one  who  settled  the  Santa  Barbara 
Channel  Islands  of  San  Clemente,  Santa  Catalina,  and  San  Nicolas,  was 
moved  by  his  aesthetic  instinct  and  the  propitious  conditions  of  his  sur- 
roundings to  express  himself  in  stone.  He  began  by  making  useful 
things  beautiful,  and  in  the  later  period  of  his  independent  develop- 
ment reached  an  advanced  stage  of  art  expression,  all  his  own,  superior 
in  quality  and  character  to  any  other  on  the  California  coast.  In  the 
archaeological  hall  of  the  Southwest  Museum  in  Los  Angeles  are  to  be 
seen  wonderful  examples  of  the  technolithic  period.  Vases  of  exquisite 
form,  simple  in  character  and  of  perfect  workmanship,  illustrate  the 
superior  attainment  of  the  pre-historic  artist's  talent.  The  geometrical 
patterns  with  which  these  vessels  are  ornamented,  while  not  complex, 
are  yet  impressive  in  their  aesthetic  and  beautiful  simplicity. 

The  highest  point  of  artistic  expression  of  these  ancient  people,  how- 
ever, is  to  be  found  in  their  carvings  of  animal  forms — whales,  sea- 
lions,  ground-squirrels  and  flying  fishes.  Of  all  these,  the  most  remark- 
able message  of  the  past  is  the  sculptured  figure  of  a  sleeping  dolphin, 
which  represents  the  supreme  manifestation  of  aboriginal  art  thus  far 
discovered  in  Southern  California.  For  the  scientist,  learned  in  the 
habits  of  the  dolphin,  as  well  as  the  artist  acquainted  with  the  peculiar 
position  assumed  by  the  sleeping  cetacean,  this  small  carving  possesses 
all  the  qualities  required  of  the  realist  as  the  essentials  of  ultra-modern 
sculpture.  It  is  very  probable  that  were  Bodin  himself  asked  to  portray 
in  clay  a  dolphin  asleep  upon  the  waters,  he  would  follow  this  Catilinean 
prototype  in  the  directness  and  impressiveness  of  delineation;  conveying 
its  exact  meaning,  without  unnecessary  and  confusing  details,  or  sug- 
gested symbolism  of  unexpressed  ideas — the  true  goal  of  present-day  art. 

Thus  the  propitious  environments  of  Southern  California  which  once 
fostered  the  remarkable  achievements  of  the  stone  age  man,  will  log- 
ically induce  like  results,  of  immensely  greater  scope  and  efficiency,  in 
the  children  of  the  world,  brought  together  and  mingling  their  ideals  in 
its  sunny  crucible  to  create  unquestionably  an  architecture,  a  sculpture, 
and  a  painting  that  will  have  an  individual  character. 

While  that  environment  will  induce  a  phase  of  art  all  its  own,  the 
very  association  of  races  will  give  to  that  art  an  international  character, 
that  will  make  its  message  understandable  everywhere  under  the  sun. 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  CALIFORNIA  ART 


By  MICHAEL  WILLIAMS 
I. 

WHILE  from  one  point  of  view,  the  one  most  usually  employed 
(although  perhaps  it  is  not  the  truest  or  most  important),  art 
in  California  is  but  a  growth  of  yesterday,  its  span  of  life  a 
mere  half  century  at  most,  nevertheless  it  would  be  well  to  remember 
that  there  was  true  art  in  this  Western  land  in  the  long  ago. 

The  native  races,  comparatively  low  as  they  were  in  the  scale  of 
humanity  as  compared  with  the  more  developed  peoples  of  Mexico  and 
Peru,  possessed  an  art  that  although  crude  and  rude  was  vital  and 
genuine.  Indeed,  as  a  race  they  were  probably  more  essentially  artistic 
than  the  generality  of  modern  folk.  With  us  today  art  has  ceased  to  be 
truly  popular.  It  is  no  longer  a  communal  matter,  understood  by  all 
and  practised  by  most,  as  it  was  with  the  Indians.  With  them  art  entered 
naturally  into  the  ordinary  habit  of  their  lives.  It  traced  a  charming  and 
naive  line  of  beauty  through  the  fabric  of  their  existence;  it  brightened, 
interested,  and  consoled  them  in  their  journey  from  birth  to  death.  Not 
so  with  us.  Art  is  now  the  concern  of  a  special  class.  It  dwells  as  a 
stranger  spirit  amid  the  uncongenial  hurly-burly  of  modern  indus- 
trialism. It  is  true  that  out  of  this  very  hurly-burly,  this  maelstrom  of 
materialism,  there  has  emerged  something  which  claims  to  be  art,  and 
is  championed  as  the  authentic  art  expression  of  modernity.  However 
this  may  be,  it  is  certainly  a  fact  that  this  newest  phase,  or  mirage,  of 
art — whichever  it  may  be — is  even  less  comprehended  of  the  people 
than  the  traditional  forms. 

The  art  of  the  California  Indian  lived  with  them  on  familiar,  homely, 
and  yet  spiritual  terms,  even  as  it  did  with  the  earliest  race  of  mankind 
of  which  science  has  any  authentic  knowledge,  the  folk  of  the  paleolithic 
period,  in  whose  deep  cavern  homes  there  have  come  to  light  beautiful 
and  powerful  mural  decorations,  comparing  very  favorably  with  the  best 
work  done  today — a  fact  which  should  cause  those  who  apply  the  evo- 
lutionary theory  to  artistic  matters  to  pause  and  meditate  profoundly. 
And  this  gracious  and  consoling  spirit  that  dwelt  in  the  rude  habitations 
of  the  native  races,  their  invisible  friend  and  helper,  touched  with  trans- 
forming influence  the  laboring  hands  that  fashioned  the  crude  tools 
and  weapons  and  household  utensils,  making  them  more  comely  and 
desirable,  and  also  more  truly  useful.  It  may  be  there  is  little  left  of 
the  ruder  forms  of  Indian  art  that  can  matter  much  for  us  today,  except 
a  few  patterns  of  their  basketry,  or  a  few  quaint  shapes  and  forms 
which  we  may  bend  to  our  more  sophisticated  purposes — but  we  might 


52 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


well  go  to  school  (if  we  only  knew  how  we  might)  to  the  Indians  to 
learn  how  to  effect  that  fruitful  communion  with  the  spirit  of  art  which 
blessed  their  lives. 

This  is  the  great  problem  of  today.  We  may  multiply  schools  and 
evolve  subtle  and  manifold  methods  of  teaching  art.  We  may  increase 
the  number  of  museums  until  every  city  in  the  land  possesses  one,  but 
if  art  remains  foreign  to  the  daily  thought  and  occupations  of  the 
multitude,  and  only  enters  intimately  into  the  lives  of  a  comparative 
few,  what  real  profit  is  art  to  humanity?  What  consolation  does  it 
bring  to  those  who  still  believe  in  democracy? 

We  have  reached  a  crisis  in  this  matter  in  America,  and  especially, 
it  seems  to  me,  in  California.  The  Exposition  has  brought  us  face  to 
face  with  a  tremendous  problem  and  a  most  serious  responsibility. 
For,  unless  many  who  should  know  whereof  they  are  speaking  are  all 
strangely  mistaken,  the  future  of  art  in  America  is  most  vitally  con- 
cerned with  California.  Here,  if  anywhere,  is  art  destined  to  be  entem- 
pled.  Here,  if  at  all,  should  art  also  become  popular,  communal,  and 
democratic.  Until  now,  California  has  produced  its  art  carelessly,  aim- 
lessly, and  luxuriantly.  Now  there  comes  the  burden  of  a  national  duty. 
If  it  be  true,  and  surely  all  these  emphatic  prophecies  uttered  by  so 
many  world-travelers,  students,  critics,  and  artists  can  not  be  wrong, 
that  California  is  the  Greece  of  the  Western  world,  or  its  Italy,  then  it 
is  of  primary  importance  that  its  people,  aroused  as  they  are  today  to 
the  public  value  of  art,  must  understand  that  they  have  something  to 
foster,  guide,  and  direct  with  generous  wisdom,  for  the  sake  of  the  rest 
of  the  nation. 

II. 

If  art  as  it  existed  in  primitive  California  was  a  communal  possession, 
a  manifestation  of  the  spirit  of  beauty  mingling  its  mystic  breath  with 
ordinary,  humdrum,  daily  life,  art  as  it  later  showed  itself  was  even 
more  intimately  concerned  with  the  actual,  fundamental  affairs  of 
humanity.  For  in  its  second  stage  it  was  bound  up  with  religion — not 
the  instinctive,  blind,  groping  other-worldliness  of  primitive  souls,  but 
the  vital,  developed,  final  message  of  Christianity.  Glorious,  dauntless, 
and  humble,  Serra  and  his  Franciscans  appeared,  bearing  the  Cross. 
They  traced  from  San  Diego  in  the  south  to  Sonoma  in  the  north  their 
trail  of  devotion,  the  pathway  of  civilization.  This  they  dotted,  a  day's 
journey  apart,  with  those  missions  the  mellifluous  names  of  which  today, 
as  Charles  Warren  Stoddard  somewhere  says,  make  the  timetable  of 
California  read  like  a  Litany  of  the  Saints.  Being  Spaniards,  their 
architecture  reflected,  rudely  yet  truly,  that  of  their  native  country,  in 
which  were  mingled  the  Gothic,  the  Romanesque,  and  the  Moorish  styles. 
Being  Catholics,  they  had  been  born  into  a  magnificent  heritage  of  art, 
and  they  belonged  to  a  generation  not  yet  modernized  and  commer- 
cialized out  of  respect  for  and  understanding  of  the  value  of  their  inheri- 
tance. They  were  still  in  touch  with  the  spirit  of  those  sadly  misunder- 


THE    PAGEANT    OF    CALIFORNIA  ART 


53 


stood  Middle  Ages,  when  art  was — as  it  never  had  been  before  and, 
alas,  never  since  has  it  been — a  dominant  and  omnipresent  element  of 
the  common  life. 

As  J.  K.  Huysman  puts  the  case,  the  art  which  the  Church  had  founded 
was  "an  art  which  has  never  been  surpassed;  in  painting  and  sculpture 
the  early  masters,  mystics  in  poetry  and  prose,  in  music  plain  chant,  in 
architecture  the  Romanesque  and  Gothic  styles.  And  all  this  held 
together  and  blazed  in  one  sheaf,  on  one  and  the  same  altar;  all  was 
reconciled  in  one  unique  cluster  of  thoughts;  to  revere,  adore,  and  serve 
the  Dispenser,  showing  to  Him  reflected  in  the  soul  of  His  creature,  as 
in  a  faithful  mirror,  the  still  immaculate  treasure  of  His  gifts. 

"Then  in  those  marvelous  Middle  Ages,  wherein  Art,  foster-child  of 
the  Church,  encroached  on  death  and  advanced  to  the  threshold  of 
eternity,  and  to  God,  the  divine  concept  and  the  heavenly  form  were 
guessed  and  half-perceived,  for  the  first  and  perhaps  for  the  last  time 
by  man.  They  answered  and  echoed  each  other— art  calling  to  art.  .  .  . 

"Then  among  artists  was  a  coalition  of  brains,  a  welding  together  of 
souls.  Painters  associated  themselves  in  the  same  ideal  of  beauty  with 
architects,  they  united  in  an  indestructible  relation  cathedrals  and  saints, 
only  reversing  the  usual  process — they  framed  the  jewel  according  to  the 
shrine,  and  modelled  the  relics  for  the  reliquary." 

Not  only  so,  but  this  spiritual  and  material  collaboration  extended 
to  the  people  as  well  as  to  the  artists,  and  its  fecund  influence  was 
apparent  in  small  things  as  in  great — not  only  in  the  cathedral,  and  the 
glass  of  their  wondrous  windows,  but  also  in  the  garments  of  the  min- 
isters, in  the  ornaments  and  vessels  of  the  altar,  in  all  that  touched 
in  any  way  the  service  of  the  Creator  of  all  things. 

So,  while  a  rough  plank  and  a  crust  of  bread  were  all  that  Serra  or 
his  friars  needed  for  bed  or  board,  they  built  in  the  wilderness  wonder- 
ful temples  for  the  King  of  Kings,  and  made  them  as  comely  and  as 
beautiful  as  they  could  devise,  and  within  the  temples  arose  the  sound 
of  Indian  voices  singing  plain  chant  (Robert  Louis  Stevenson  heard 
their  descendants  continuing  the  tradition  in  the  old  Mission  at  Carmel), 
while  clustering  around  the  churches  were  the  mission  buildings,  like 
unto  the  mediaeval  towns  which  clung  to  the  protecting  skirts  of  the 
cathedrals. 

The  Indians  well  understood  this  new  phase  of  art,  which  simply 
lifted  them  to  a  higher  plane  than  the  level  they  had  long  been  familiar 
with.  With  their  own  hands  they  built  the  sacred  places  and  carved 
the  ornaments,  as  no  machine  could  do,  and  they  learned  and  chanted 
the  noble  music  and  assisted  at  the  most  artistically  beautiful  ritual 
known  to  man.  The  Golden  Age  for  a  brief  space  returned,  in  a  humble 
manner,  to  earth,  in  California — an  age  when  art  was  the  hand-maiden 
of  the  soul  of  man  as  well  as  the  ministering  spirit  to  his  ruder  needs. 

Then  the  calm  wave  of  peace  and  prosperity,  having  reached  its  cli- 
max, broke  and  receded,  dragged  back  by  an  ebb-tide  from  the  abyss 
of  iniquity.  The  Indians  were  deprived  of  their  true  friends.  The  poor, 


54 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


foolish,  yet  gentle  and  lovable  sheep  lost  their  shepherds,  and  upon 
them  rushed  the  wolves  of  vice,  of  robbery,  of  cruel  injustice.  And  they 
passed  like  shadowy  phantoms,  swept  into  oblivion,  and  the  missions 
that  had  been  unto  them  what  the  cathedrals  had  been  to  the  people 
of  the  Middle  Ages  crumbled  into  ruins.  The  roof  of  fair  Carmel's 
church  fell  through  and  hid  the  grave  of  Serra.  Mournful  owls  roosted 
in  the  broken  tower  where  the  sweet  bell  once  called  the  folk  to  the 
sacring  of  the  mass.  The  gray  sea-fogs  rotted  the  crumbling  walls.  The 
work  of  the  Franciscans  had  been  swept  away,  it  seemed,  and  all  mem- 
ory of  Serra  and  his  friars  appeared  to  be  vanishing  from  the  land  which 
he  had  won  from  savagery. 

But  perhaps  good  work  truly  accomplished  can  never  be  lost.  Even 
when  apparently  overthrown  it  possesses  mystical  seeds  which  germ- 
inate in  the  midst  of  ruin  and  bear  fruit  even  in  the  far  future.  For 
now  in  California  we  witness  the  recrudescence  of  Spanish  and  Catholic 
influence  in  our  art.  Of  no  possession  is  California  prouder  today  than 
the  missions.  The  two  great  expositions  this  year  showed  forth  abun- 
dantly the  power  of  the  architectural  styles  brought  here  by  the  sons 
of  Spain.  The  civilization  of  today  in  our  state  bears  the  fructifying 
touch  of  Spanish  culture  and  Spanish  religion.  These  are  factors  pre- 
destined to  play  an  even  greater  part  in  our  future  development. 

III. 

There  succeeded  to  the  long,  leisurely,  Arcadian  mission  period,  and 
the  briefer,  gloomier  period  of  its  decadence,  the  modern  California, 
the  California  which  links  itself  with  the  United  States  instead  of  Spain 
and  Mexico.  Even  in  doing  so,  however,  it  maintained  those  circum- 
stances of  singularity  which  places  the  seal  of  an  unique  distinction  upon 
this  state.  Impossible  within  the  limits  of  a  brief  paper  to  indicate  more 
than  with  utter  brevity  a  few  of  these  distinguishing  circumstances  and 
factors,  but  it  is  essential  to  glance  at  them.  For  although  art  has  been 
banished  from  the  common  consciousness  of  modern  life,  nevertheless 
it  can  not  be  considered  apart  from  the  bewildering  complex  of  factors 
which  make  up  the  fabric  of  our  existence.  And  if  art  is  to  recover  its 
rightful  place  in  the  understanding  and  affection  of  the  people,  it  will 
be  when  we  learn  how  it  is  part  and  parcel  of,  and  how  it  is  affected 
by,  the  social  activities  which  mostly  concern  us  today. 

First,  then,  it  is  obvious,  even  unto  triteness,  that  the  circumstances 
which  so  strongly  distinguish  California  and  give  her  a  place  dramat- 
ically apart  from  her  sister  states,  may  be  summed  up  in  three  master 
words,  namely,  beauty,  romance,  and  youth.  To  be  sure,  these  words 
are  far  from  being  precisely  descriptive;  nevertheless  they  are  motive 
phrases,  if  not  scientific  formulae,  which  express  the  character  of  the 
state.  And  in  one  major  branch  of  art  these  characteristics  are  caught 
and  reflected  abundantly.  California's  literature  has  most  sensitively 
reacted  to  their  powerful  stimulation. 


THE    PAGEANT    OF    CALIFORNIA  ART 


55 


What  a  processional  pageantry  of  romance,  what  a  story  of  wonder, 
mystery,  and  buoyant,  youthful  adventuring  is  that  of  California!  Som- 
nolent, languid,  tawny,  through  the  centuries  the  lonely  land  lay  veiled 
in  fog,  yet  with  flanks  burning  in  the  ardent  sunshine,  drowsing,  yet 
vibrant  beneath  its  languor  with  tremendous  energy — like  some  huge 
mountain  lion.  It  was  at  the  uttermost  end  of  the  world — this  land  the 
very  name  of  which  had  been  conceived  by  a  writer  of  romance.  Tre- 
mendous deserts  shut  it  away  from  the  rest  of  the  country.  It  required 
months  of  voyaging  from  anywhere  at  all  to  reach  it.  Only  a  few  rest- 
less adventurers,  men  in  whose  souls  there  was  the  nostalgia  of  the 
ever-receding  horizon  line,  undertook  the  journey.  Now  there  would 
come  a  Swiss  soldier  of  fortune,  establishing  himself  like  a  feudal  lord 
amid  his  Indian  retainers  and  trappers  on  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento. 
Then  it  would  be  a  French  nobleman  for  whom  the  Sahara  had  grown 
too  tame  and  who  sought  wilder  adventures  on  the  rim  of  the  earth.  Or 
the  American  trappers,  six-foot  rifle  in  hand,  pushing  ever  westward 
beyond  the  farthest  frontier  of  civilization.  Or  those  in  whom  the 
progress  of  society  since  the  dawn  of  time  has  found  its  most  devoted 
servitors,  namely,  the  merchant  adventurers :  Grave  Scotchmen,  chipper 
Yankees,  gay,  gallant  Frenchmen,  dreamy  Russians — all  very  willing 
to  travel  thousands  of  miles  and  to  risk  their  lives  each  mile  in  order 
to  set  up  a  shop  in  the  land  of  Nowhere  or  of  Anywhere.  The  pre- 
cursors, these,  of  industrial  civilization,  drifting  in  by  ones  and  twos, 
taking  unto  themselves  wives  from  among  the  simple,  courteous  Cali- 
fornia folk,  dealing  in  furs,  trafficking  in  hides  with  the  ships  from 
Boston,  establishing  their  Hudson  Bay  Company  stations,  or  outposts 
of  the  Russian  trade,  and  bringing  to  the  wiser  minds  among  the  Cali- 
fornians  the  troubling  thought  of  the  great  world  reaching  out  toward 
their  homespun  Arcadia.  Yet  not  through  the  agglomeration  of  invading 
units  from  the  outer  world,  or  by  orderly  immigration,  slow  or  swift, 
did  California's  destiny  declare  itself.  Born  to  be  romantic,  created 
for  an  ineluctably  dramatic  part,  California  suddenly  aroused  from  its 
languorous  attitude,  uttered  one  word  which  clanged  like  a  sonorous 
gong  throughout  the  world,  and  instantly  sprang  into  the  most  intense, 
energetic,  and  clamorous  existence.  That  word  was  "Gold !"  Then  from 
all  the  ends  of  the  earth  the  young  men  of  all  races  and  tribes  and 
peoples  rushed  toward  California.  All  the  seas  were  dotted  with  the 
ships  of  the  Argonauts;  their  caravans  crawled  across  the  deserts.  Star- 
vation, thirst,  Indian  massacres,  yellow  fever  (on  the  Isthmus  of  Pan- 
ama), dotted  the  trails  with  the  bodies  of  dead  adventurers.  Remote 
as  was  the  goal,  and  dangerous  and  difficult  as  were  all  the  paths  to  it, 
nothing  checked  the  torrent.  They  came,  these  first  adventurers,  not  to 
found  a  state,  but  to  enrich  themselves,  or  more  simply,  in  the  relish 
of  adventure. 

Yet  from  the  very  first  there  mingled  with  the  reckless  youngsters 
men  of  firm  will  and  settled  purpose  who  already  divined  the  future. 
But  who,  even  among  the  wise,  dreamed  that  the  golden  harvest  so 


50 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


prodigally  scattered  over  the  surface  of  the  land  was  only,  as  it  were, 
a  sort  of  device  on  the  part  of  the  spirit  of  the  state  to  attract  attention 
to  the  vaster  treasures  buried  in  its  ample  and  opulent  bosom — like 
the  floating  bait  which  the  crafty  fisherman  throws  to  gather  the  fish. 
Who  could  foresee  that,  long  after  the  romantic  placer  mining  day  had 
passed,  more  gold  would  be  dug  by  machinery  from  the  mines  of  Cali- 
fornia than  was  ever  taken  in  any  year  of  the  rush?  Or  who  then 
could  glimpse  the  even  greater  agricultural  possibilities  of  the  land 
which  seemed  so  barren,  so  briefly  green  and  evanescently  radiant  with 
flowers  in  the  rainy  season,  and  hard-baked  and  haggardly  brown  with 
drought  in  the  long  rainless  summers?  And  who  can  wonder  if  in  the 
midst  of  ever-continuous  excitement — adventure  piled  upon  adventure, 
the  Bear  Flag  revolution,  the  carrying  by  storm  of  statehood,  the 
fires  and  earthquakes,  the  vigilante  days,  the  Chinese  riots,  the  booms 
and  panics  of  San  Francisco,  the  springing  up  of  cities  and  towns  as  if 
by  magic  here,  there,  and  everywhere;  the  struggle  to  save  the  new  state 
from  secession,  and  the  almost  universal  preoccupation  with  material 
concerns — who  can  wonder,  I  say,  that  as  the  tremendous  turmoil  settled 
down  at  last  into  some  semblance  of  social  order  and  the  romantic  era 
gave  place  to  the  sway  of  industrial  civilization,  the  spirit  of  art  seemed 
utterly  to  have  disappeared.  Gone,  indeed,  it  was  from  the  minds  of 
the  many;  yet  it  slumbered  in  their  souls  awaiting  the  day  of  reawaken- 
ing, and  in  the  meanwhile  fugitive  and  mostly  very  crude  and  unstable 
altars  in  its  service  were  kept  alight  here  and  there. 

For  it  must  be  remembered  that  although  the  hurly-burly  of  the  gold 
rush  and  all  the  febrile  excitements  of  pioneer  days  are  what  we  chiefly 
think  of  in  connection  with  early  California,  that  is  not  the  whole  story, 
by  any  means. 

Among  the  adventurers  came  thousands  who  were  more  than  adven- 
turers— strong,  sound,  home-seeking  men  and  women,  of  the  best  stuff 
in  the  country;  pioneering  families  from  New  England,  the  Southern 
states,  and  what  we  now  call  the  Middle  West,  but  which  then  formed 
the  westward  frontier  of  civilization.  Theirs  was  the  steadying  influence 
in  this  seething  mass  of  cosmopolitanism.  They  brought  the  best  tra- 
ditions of  Anglo-Saxon  self-government  and  democracy  to  form  the 
basis  of  the  state.  And  naturally  they  became  the  rulers  and  the  guides. 
And  as  the  tents  and  rude  shacks  disappeared,  and  the  substantial  towns 
and  cities  sprang  up,  and  this  rim  of  the  world  which  once  was  a 
journey  of  several  months  from  the  East  was  brought  close  to  it  by  the 
railroad,  there  began  the  third  phase  of  art  in  California. 

IV. 

In  the  beginning  it  is  entirely  a  story  of  artists  coming  from  else- 
where and  reflecting  California,  as  it  were,  at  second  hand.  It  is  a  story 
of  many  rude  and  humble  beginnings,  of  portrait  painters  graduating 
for  the  nonce  from  their  ordinary  occupations  of  lithographing  and 


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57 


photography,  and  of  landscape  painters  coming  to  the  new  land  from 
afar,  but  only  in  a  few  instances  producing  work  rising  above  the  level 
of  mediocrity.  Nevertheless,  if  there  was  little  native  originality,  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  sound  knowledge  and  technical  ability  at  the  com- 
mand of  these  early  men,  and  they  found  pupils  galore,  many  of  whom 
eclipsed  all  but  one  or  two  of  their  masters.  The  story  of  the  great 
excitement  created  in  San  Francisco  by  the  theft  of  Toby  Rosenthal's 
"Elaine,"  and  of  how  Signor  Somebody-or-Other  from  Rome  took  advan- 
tage of  the  occasion  to  produce  another  "Elaine,"  which  "competent 
authorities  considered  the  equal  if  not  the  superior  of  Mr.  Toby  Rosen- 
thal's famous  masterpiece,"  may  cause  us  to  smile  today;  nevertheless, 
that  and  other  incidents  are  indicative  of  a  healthful  interest  in  art 
which  manifested  very  early,  and  we  who  belong  either  by  birth  or  by 
spirit  to  San  Francisco  should  take  pride  in  the  fact  that  more  than 
forty  years  ago,  at  a  time  when  neither  New  York  nor  Roston  possessed 
an  art  museum  or  an  adequately  organized  art  society,  this  city  formed 
an  association  which  first  and  last  has  turned  out  scores  of  men  and 
women  whose  names  are  linked  inseparably  with  that  of  modern 
American  art.  However,  we  must  confess  that  we  but  produced  our 
artists  to  lose  them,  for  they  went  forth  after  receiving  their  preliminary 
training  into  the  world  of  larger  opportunities. 

With  only  a  few  men,  after  all,  can  serious  artistic  study  concern  itself 
very  deeply.  Rierstadt,  carrying  westward  the  teachings  of  the  Hudson 
River  school  of  American  landscape,  probably  inspired  Thomas  Hill, 
and  influenced  William  Keith  as  well,  although  the  latter  found  his 
great  opportunity  not  in  the  panoramic  Hudson  River  school,  but  in  the 
more  spiritual  message  of  the  Rarbizon  school,  transmitted — with  what 
personal  force  and  beautiful  magic! — through  George  Inness.  William 
Keith,  unquestionably,  stands  today  before  the  world  as  the  most  notable 
manifestation  of  art  in  California;  but  it  can  hardly  be  said  of  him  that 
he  expressed  the  native  spirit  of  the  West  in  an  individual  and  original 
style. 

Up  to  this  time  California  has  produced  perhaps  only  one  man  whose 
genius  impresses  his  work  with  that  seal  of  individuality  which  is  the 
mark  of  greatness.  That  man  is  Arthur  Putnam.  Here  is  a  man  in 
whom  the  West  has  found  its  truest  and  most  native  art  expression. 
He  came  to  the  state  as  a  child.  He  is  entirely  self-taught.  He  lived  a 
life  of  the  most  intimate,  constant  communion  with  Nature.  He  reached 
terms  of  an  almost  uncanny  rapport  with  the  animal  kingdom,  and  his 
sculptures  of  animal  life  possess  all  the  power  of  Rarye,  plus  a  tur- 
bulent passion  which  the  more  classical  master  does  not  show.  The 
neglect  of  the  presence  of  such  an  authentic,  original  genius  as  Arthur 
Putnam  here  in  California  does  not  do  the  state  any  credit.  The 
City  of  San  Francisco,  which  should  be  proud  of  his  presence,  and 
should  exalt  his  art,  disfigures  its  new  Civic  Center  with  cast-iron  foun- 
tains and  commonplace  animal  figures,  while  in  the  leaky  little  studio 
near  the  ocean  beach  there  are  models  of  truly  monumental  magnif- 


58 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


icence  produced  by  this  powerful  genius.  But  these  things  are  the  sad 
commonplaces  of  the  history  of  art.  The  masters  are  almost  invariably 
neglected,  and  advertising  mediocrity  takes  the  prizes  and  the  plaudits. 
Even  at  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition,  where  there  should  have  been 
a  large  gallery  devoted  to  the  most  original  artist  of  the  West,  Putnam 
was  only  represented  by  a  glass  case  crowded  with  his  casts,  most 
difficult  to  study. 

Another  man  who  possessed  authentic  originality,  but  of  whom  we 
hear  and,  what  is  worse,  of  whom  we  see  even  less,  is  that  artist  so 
untimely  taken  away  by  death,  the  brilliant  and  lovable  Arthur  Atkins, 
a  painter  who  evolved  from  his  own  soul  a  synthetic  style,  and  a  most 
beautiful  and  painter-like  use  of  color  and  form  comparable  to  the 
best  among  the  most  modern  work. 

V. 

Even  if  one  but  glances  about  the  contemporary  field — without  paus- 
ing for  special  consideration — one  can  not  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the 
vigorous  promise  and,  up  to  a  certain  level,  the  fine  performance  of 
the  artists  of  the  West.  Architecturally,  Western  talent  played  the  pre- 
dominant part  in  the  creation  of  that  triumph  of  co-operative  artistry, 
the  Exposition.  With  a  group  of  such  men  in  its  midst  as  Willis  Polk, 
Louis  Christian  Mullgardt,  B.  B.  Maybeck,  Arthur  Brown,  John  Galen 
Howard,  W.  B.  Faville,  George  W.  Kelham,  Clarence  B.  Ward,  Bobert  D. 
Farquhar,  and  John  A.  Bakewell — to  name  the  outstanding  figures — 
California  need  not  fear  comparison  with  any  state  in  the  Union.  Some 
of  them  are  men  of  a  truly  original  genius. 

The  field  of  the  painters  and  sculptors  and  etchers  grows  larger  year 
by  year.  It  really  abounds  in  promising  individual  temperaments. 

In  Arthur  Mathews — a  potent  personality  who  suggests  William  Morris 
in  the  varied  and  social  aspects  of  his  art — he  being  architect,  decorator, 
mural  and  easel  painter,  furniture  designer,  and  writer  all  in  one — 
the  community  receives  the  benefit  of  a  fancy  which  is  at  once  intel- 
lectual and  romantic — a  creative  energy  controlled  and  directed  by  firm 
thought,  cleanly  and  nervously  shaped,  and  clothed  in  rich  and  well- 
ordered  beauty  of  color. 

Charles  Bollo  Peters  presents  a  gift  of  another  kind.  In  him  especially 
does  the  nocturnal  witchery  and  glamor  of  California's  romantic 
aspects  find  beautiful  expression.  An  uneven  workman,  and  perhaps 
too  facile,  at  his  best  he  superbly  satisfies  the  desire  for  beauty. 

A  name  which  stands  apart  from  all  others  because  of  the  noble 
services  rendered  the  cause  of  art  in  its  aspects  of  truest  importance — 
namely,  that  of  social  benefit — as  well  as  for  the  distinguished  beauty 
of  his  personal  work,  is  that  of  Bruce  Porter — a  name  which  recalls 
John  La  Farge  in  that,  like  La  Farge,  Porter  is  a  humanist  in  the  most 
essential  characteristics  of  his  varied  and  fertile  career.  No  influence 
for  artistic  truth  and  progress  has  been  more  potent  in  California. 


THE    PAGEANT    OF    CALIFORNIA  ART 


59 


With  Francis  McComas,  whom  the  Exposition  has  definitely  "made," 
there  is  the  emergence  of  a  very  definite,  strong,  and  interesting  talent 
which  has  given  him  an  unquestioned  place  among  the  American  artists 
of  the  day.  Xavier  Martinez— whom  one  links  in  fraternal  spirit  with 
Gottardo  Piazzoni,  for  both  are  lyric  poets  in  paint — is  unquestionably 
a  true  creative  artist,  and  destined  to  express  more  adequately  than  as 
yet  a  sense  of  beauty  full  of  refinement  that  has  not  discarded  strength; 
subtle  and  profound,  yet  simple.  Robert  Aitken,  Edgar  Walter,  Ralph 
Stackpole,  Haig  Patigian,  Earl  Cummings,  J.  J.  Mora,  and  Douglas  Til- 
den  form  a  group  of  sculptors  of  unquestioned  excellence,  among  whom 
there  are  several  for  whom  the  future  must  hold  big  things.  Then  there 
is  a  numerous  group  of  many  diverse  talents.  To  name  the  Exposition 
prize-winners  in  the  first  place  (although  official  recognition  is  far 
from  being  a  trustworthy  index  of  merit),  are  such  well-known  men  and 
women  as  H.  J.  Breuer  and  William  Ritschel,  who  won  gold  medals — 
the  first  with  his  landscapes  in  which  the  strength  and  dignity  of  West- 
ern mountains  are  celebrated;  the  second  with  seascapes  that  vigorously 
reflect  the  beautiful  coast  of  Monterey;  Mary  Curtis  Richardson,  Joseph 
Raphael,  Guy  Rose,  Carl  Oscar  Borg,  William  Wendt,  E.  Charlton  For- 
tune, Maurice  Del  Mue,  Armin  Hansen,  Bruce  Nelson,  Edward  Cucuel, 
and  Lucia  B.  Mathews,  to  whom  were  awarded  silver  medals;  while 
Florence  Lundborg,  Maynard  Dixon,  Anne  M.  Bremer,  Perham  Nahl, 
Frank  J.  Van  Sloun,  and  Gertrude  Partington  received  bronze  medals, 
honorable  mention  being  bestowed  upon  Lee  F.  Randolph  and  Betty 
de  Jong. 

For  distinguished  merit  in  the  sections  of  prints  and  water  colors 
silver  medals  were  bestowed  upon  Lucia  K.  Mathews,  Clark  Hobart, 
Perham  Nahl,  and  Worth  Ryder;  George  T.  Plum,  Percy  Gray,  and 
Helen  Hyde  winning  bronze  medals,  while  honorable  mention  was 
granted  Xavier  Martinez  and  Pedro  J.  Lemos.  Charles  J.  Dickman, 
Jules  Page,  and  Eugen  Neuhaus,  together  with  Mathews  and  McComas, 
were  members  of  the  jury  and  not  eligible  for  awards. 

Among  these  official  victors  and  jurors,  William  Wendt,  Guy  Rose, 
and  William  Ritschel,  H.  J.  Breuer,  Mary  Curtis  Richardson,  Carl 
Oscar  Borg,  and  Joseph  Raphael  were  prominently  known  before  the 
Exposition;  but  when  it  is  remembered  that  Armin  Hansen,  E.  Charlton 
Fortune,  Bruce  Nelson,  Maurice  Del  Mue,  Frank  J.  Van  Sloun,  Anne  M. 
Bremer,  Florence  Lundborg,  Betty  de  Jong,  Clark  Hobart,  Perham  Nahl, 
Percy  Gray,  Ralph  Stackpole,  Edgar  Walter,  Pedro  Lemos,  and 
others  are  all  young  artists,  some  of  them  almost  beginners,  and  that 
among  them  are  several  who  represent  the  most  vigorous  and  hopeful 
technical  tendencies,  you  clearly  perceive  that  the  international  jury 
(and  again  let  us  emphasize  the  fact  that  juries  are  always  conservative 
and  slow  of  perception)  has  emphatically  recognized  the  new  spirit  of 
the  West;  and  it  is  this  new  spirit  that  must  animate  the  future. 


GO 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


VI. 

But  it  was  the  people  even  more  than  the  artists  of  the  West  who 
won  the  most  notable  victory.  The  extent,  the  depth,  the  earnestness, 
the  seriousness  of  the  public  response  to  the  art  of  the  Exposition 
deeply  impressed  all  competent  observers;  indeed,  many  were  amazed. 
And  this  fact  is  a  source  at  once  of  consolation  and  of  anxiety  to  those 
who  love  art  and  desire  to  see  its  blessings  permeate  the  people  as  in 
the  long  ago.  In  the  midst  of  a  world  drunken  with  blood,  delirious 
with  destruction,  a  world  in  which  two  years  ago  art  was  by  a  few 
idolaters  elevated  into  a  sort  of  false  religion,  while  to  the  multitude  it 
was  utterly  unknown,  California  is  experiencing  what  appears  to  be 
nothing  less  than  the  birth  throes  of  a  reawakened  popular  conscious- 
ness of  art's  place  in  human  life.  It  is  a  consolation,  for  the  reason  that 
unless  art  is  attached  by  strong  bonds  of  sympathy  and  understanding 
to  the  common  life,  art  becomes  sterile,  fantastic,  and  perverted;  a 
subtle  and  precious  plaything  for  a  few  abnormal  intelligences.  It  is  a 
cause  of  anxiety,  because  this  reawakened  consciousness  is  coincident 
with  an  epoch  of  sensationalism  in  art.  The  public,  in  modern  times, 
yes,  and  the  art  leaders  of  the  public,  have  been  convicted  so  many 
times  of  failure  to  understand  the  message  of  great,  original  new  artists, 
that  they  have  swung  absurdly  and  sheepishly  to  the  other  extreme, 
and  the  doors  of  the  house  of  art,  which  should  be  guarded  sacredly 
by  wardens  equipped  with  sympathy,  knowledge,  and  understanding 
are  thrown  wide  open  to  all  the  freaks,  eccentricities,  and  mad  egoisms 
of  an  age  of  intellectual  anarchy. 

What  else  could  be  expected  of  a  generation  that,  on  the  whole,  had 
grown  atheistical?  Unless  art,  like  man,  believes  in  and  is  obedient  to 
the  spirit  of  God,  it  is  doomed  to  madness,  decay,  and  death.  That  it 
may  go  down  by  many  a  strange  path  to  its  doom,  in  fashions  of  great 
dramatic  interest,  and  clothed  upon  with  garments  of  strange,  fascinat- 
ing beauty,  is  very  true — but  all  beauty  is  not  necessarily  true  or  good, 
Keats  and  his  dogma  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Beauty  and  intel- 
lectual interest  may  be  evil  in  essence  and  in  results. 

Art,  like  all  the  fundamental  factors  in  human  life,  is  essentially 
a  mystery.  It  lies  beyond  the  scope  of  the  unaided  intellect.  Its  source  is 
secret  and  supernatural.  It  springs  from  a  fountain  sealed  away  from 
purely  rational  investigation,  and  only  revealed  to  the  vision  of  the 
soul.  Materialistic  criticism  and  research,  which  have  so  lorded  it  over 
modern  thought  until  today,  have  failed  completely  and  ignominiously 
in  their  efforts  to  analyze  the  mystery  of  art,  neatly  and  finally  to  cata- 
logue its  species  and  its  genera,  and,  finally,  to  elucidate  its  origin, 
growth,  and  development.  The  so-called  evolutionary  theory  as  applied 
to  the  criticism  of  art  has  utterly  broken  down,  together  with  the  equally 
futile  attempt  to  explain  the  greater  mystery  of  human  life  itself  through 
the  agency  of  this  theory.  Indeed,  this  mad  dream,  imposed  upon  mod- 
ern thought  by  a  few  powerful  fanatics  of  science,  in  which  the  world 


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61 


was  considered  to  be  the  fortuitous  agglomeration  of  self-created  atoms 
of  cosmic  dust,  whirled  into  globular  form  out  of  the  bosom  of  the 
eternal  abyss  of  nothingness — upon  which  and  out  of  the  slime  of  which 
humanity  appeared,  not  even  science  knew  how,  via  a  long  line  of  ring- 
tailed  monkeys,  and  swimming  snakes,  and  winged  fish,  and  proto- 
plasmic jelly — this  delirious  dream  has  practically  disappeared  from 
all  save  the  bewildered  brains  of  a  few  antiquated  people.  And  with  it 
there  fades  into  dust  and  ashes  all  the  imposing  but  baseless  schemes 
of  a  pseudo-scientific  criticism  which  tried  to  deal  with  art  as  other 
branches  of  pseudo-science  dealt  with  religion  and  the  laws  of  human 
society,  namely,  placing  these  really  spiritual  concerns  upon  a  strictly 
materialistic  basis,  treating  them  as  manifestations  of  the  belly-need 
and  the  blind  propagation  urge  of  the  evanescent  flesh  of  man.  And 
for  a  long,  far  too  long  a  time,  this  school  of  criticism  dominated  all 
others. 

Nevertheless,  the  star  of  the  spirit  never  ceased  shining  above  the 
dank,  drab  fog  of  materialism,  and  in  spite  of  the  blindness  of  the 
human  mind  when  it  attempts  to  dispense  with  the  vision  of  the  soul; 
and  the  life  of  the  new  age  that  is  dawning  upon  the  world  above  the 
black  and  bloody  thunderclouds  of  war  is  unmistakably  a  spiritual 
luminosity.  In  all  the  arts,  literature  and  music,  as  well  as  painting, 
sculpture,  and  architecture,  that  light  is  shining  with  peculiar  power. 
And  it  will  increase.  Art  more  and  more  concerns  itself  with  the  inner 
essence  of  reality,  less  and  less  with  merely  its  outward  forms.  And 
whenever  these  outward  forms  do  chance  to  be  the  chief  concern  of 
any  modern  artist,  he  deals  with  them  more  and  more  in  the  spirit  of 
simplification,  of  personal  arrangement,  and  less  and  less  in  the  spirit 
of  photographic  exactitude. 

For  good  or  for  bad,  the  new  spirit  in  art  is  psychic  and  spiritual.  For 
good  or  for  bad,  let  us  remark  the  point,  because  spiritual  force  in  a 
work  of  art  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  the  effect  is  for  good.  This 
is  a  point  often  overlooked  by  certain  enthusiasts.  For  let  us  be  candid 
and  acknowledge  that  created  beauty  may  be,  and  indeed  often  is,  pro- 
foundly evil,  subtly  and  poisonously  corrupted.  There  are  evil  forces 
let  loose  in  human  life  through  the  media  of  the  arts.  There  are 
powers  and  principalities  seated  in  the  high  places  of  human  thought 
which  through  poem,  and  story,  and  play,  music,  pictures,  statuary,  and 
the  dance,  wage  deadly  warfare  upon  the  soul  of  man.  When  the  pres- 
ent great  war  is  over,  the  national  and  racial  struggles  of  the  future 
will  be  in  trade,  finance,  and  politics,  yes,  and  also  in  literature,  art, 
and  music.  The  vast  drama  of  life,  which  is  the  struggle  between  good 
and  evil,  will  be  carried  on  in  ways  most  subtle  and  strange  and  intan- 
gible, yet  none  the  less  violent,  terrible,  and  deadly.  Wherefore,  back 
into  the  art  criticism  of  today  and  of  the  days  that  are  coming,  the  cri- 
terion of  moral  value  must  return.  Banished  by  the  brief  triumph  of 
the  materialism,  sensuality,  and  superficiality  predominant  during  the 


62 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


last  few  decades,  the  fundamental  importance  of  the  moral  effect  of  art 
reasserts  its  absolutely  rightful  authority. 

It  is  perhaps  not  unnecessary  to  add  that  I  do  not  refer  to  the  so-called 
"morality"  of  those  prejudiced  or  anaemic  people  who  at  times  break 
out  into  violent  denunciations  of  this  or  that  picture  or  statue  merely 
on  account  of  its  nudity.  Some  of  the  most  wofully  immoral  paintings 
and  music  I  have  known  were  ostensibly  religious  in  theme.  It  is  not 
subject  matter,  necessarily,  that  is  the  principal  factor  in  this  problem. 
But  I  do  most  precisely  mean  to  say  that  the  silly  and  dangerous  cant 
which  would  affirm  that  art  has  no  purpose,  and  which  used  for  so 
long  the  now  worn-out  slogan  of  "art  for  art's  sake,"  etc.,  is  being 
dropped  by  all  intelligences  that  count  for  anything,  and  I  also  mean 
that  the  question  as  to  the  effect  which  a  work  of  art  exerts  for  good 
or  for  evil  has  become  an  essential  factor  of  all  first-class  criticism  or 
creation. 

This  factor  will  be  especially  powerful  in  America  because  of  the 
great,  perhaps  the  dominating  part  which  America  is  destined  to  play 
in  the  world-art  of  the  future. 

And  with  this  we  touch  the  crux  of  the  whole  matter,  so  far  as  Cali- 
fornia is  concerned.  If  it  be  true  that  this  state  is  to  play  the  part 
prefigured  for  it  in  so  many  prophetic  visions,  then  the  responsibility 
which  California  assumes  as  it  faces  its  task  of  cultivating  the  art-force 
which  is  springing  up  with  the  strength  and  with  the  magical  fertility 
of  its  trees  and  its  grain  and  vines  is  something  which  each  and  every 
one  of  us  must  realize  and  share.  As  yet,  modern  industrialism  and  com- 
mercialism have  not  affected  California  so  sorely  as  they  have  many 
other  states.  Those  characteristics  which  we  have  agreed  upon  as  pre- 
dominating in  California,  namely,  its  beauty,  its  romance,  and  its  youth, 
are  still  unquenched  and  in  the  morning  of  their  course.  This  is  a  state 
of  natural  health.  It  is  the  land  of  the  great  out  of  doors,  a  region  where 
art  may  touch  the  life-giving  bosom  of  Mother  Earth  once  more,  and 
be  fructified  anew;  where  it  may  put  aside  its  dreary,  tortuous  intel- 
lectualism  and  the  blighting  madness  of  self-deification,  and  turn  its 
eyes  once  again  to  the  stars,  to  the  great  mountains,  and  to  the  sea,  not 
merely  for  their  own  sakes,  but  because,  real  and  actual  as  they  are, 
they  are  but  symbols  of  divine  realities. 


AMERICAN  PAINTERS  OTHER  THAN 
CALIFORNIAN 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  SERAGLIO 


By  Jules  Guerin 


Plate  No.  101 


Plate  No.  102 


Plate  No.  103 


PORTRAIT  OF  JUDGE  PETER  R.  OLNEY 


By  George  Bellows 


Plate  No.  104 


Plate  No.  105 


Plate  No.  106 


Plate  No.  107 


MISS  M —  AND  A  PARROT  By  Josephine  Paddock 


Plate  No.  108 


THE  NAUTILUS 

Copyright  by  Carroll  Beckwith 

From  a  Copley  print 

Copyright  by  Curtis  &  Cameron,  Inc.,  Boston 


By  Carroll  Beckwith 


Plate  No.  109. 


Plate  No.  122 


Plate  No.  123 


THE  BREAKING  OF  WINTER 


By  Edward  W.  Redfield 


Plate  No.  124 


BATHER  By  Chari.es  Wai  ter  Stetson 


Plate  No.  125 


PORTRAIT:  MRS.  HUTH  By  James  McNeill  Whistler 


Plate  No.  126 


Nude  Study  By  John  Singer  Sargent 


Plate  No.  127 


QUARRY:  EVENING 


Plate  No.  128 


Plate  No.  12!) 


Plate  No.  130 


WINTER'S  FESTIVAL 


Plate  No.  131 


ST.  IVES  FISHING  BOATS 


By  Hayley  Lever 


Plate  No.  132 


SELF  PORTRAIT  By  William  M.  Chase 


Plate  No.  133 


Plate  No.  134 


THE  HOUSEMAID  By  William  McGregor  Paxton 


Plate  No.  135 


PORTRAIT:  DANIEL  CHESTER  FRENCH  By  Robert  Vonnoh 


Plate  No.  136 


■  1  .. 

*  * 

WOMAN  WITH  FORGET-ME-NOTS  Bi/  Frank  Duveneck 


Plate  No.  137 


MOTHER  AND  CHILD  Bg  JoHN  H.  Twachtman 


Plate  No.  138 


PORTRAIT  OF  FRANK  DUVENECK  By  Joseph  De  Camp 


Plate  No.  139 


Plate  No.  140 


Plate  No.  141 


PHANTASMATA  By  Sergeant  Kendall 


Plate  No.  142 


Plate  No.  in 


Plate  No.  144 


Plate  No.  145 


Plate  No.  14G 


\ 


THE  DREAMER  BV  Edmund  C.  Tarbfxl 


Plate  No.  147 


Plate  No.  148 


SIX  LANDSCAPE  PAINTERS  OF  SOUTHERN 

CALIFORNIA 


By  ANTONY  ANDERSON 

EXACTLY  what  did  Stewart  Edward  White  mean  when  he  said  that 
"California  is  the  graveyard  of  talent"?  Did  he  intend  to  have 
the  remark  pass  down  to  posterity  as  a  bon-mot  or  as  a  proposition 
in  philosophical  thought?  If  the  former,  we  may  perhaps  forgive  him — 
even  though  we  do  not  think  the  "bon"  should  go  before  the  "mot." 
If  the  latter,  we  must  demand  demonstration  and  proof. 

Mr.  White,  in  propria  persona,  is  the  vigorous  protest  against  the 
truth  of  his  own  statement.  His  particular  talent  for  story-telling  did 
not  die  when  he  brought  it  with  him  from  Michigan  to  California. 
To  the  contrary,  it  stood  the  transplanting  remarkably  well,  flourishing 
more  hardily  than  ever  in  its  present  sunny  environment,  where  it  has 
hitherto  suffered  no  "frost."  It  produced  one  good  novel  after  another 
— and  is  still  doing  it,  smiling  benignly  over  its  "graveyard"  at  Santa 
Barbara.  Too,  it  appears  to  wear  the  smile  that  won't  come  off,  despite 
the  pessimism  of  the  man  behind  the  mask.  And  Mr.  White's  case  may 
be  multiplied  by  the  hundreds.  We  may  kick  against  the  pricks  of 
environment,  out  here  in  California;  we  may  bemoan  our  distance  from 
the  "art  centers,"  but  neither  we  nor  our  talents  die  of  inanition.  Nor  do 
we  know  the  suffocating  feeling  of  being  buried  alive.  New  York  thinks 
we  do,  of  course — but  how  should  New  York,  always  rather  myopic, 
focus  us  clearly,  four  thousand  miles  away?  Let  us  take  care,  then, 
that  we  do  not  see  ourselves  as  the  Gothamite  sees  us,  for  when  we 
do  we  become  smaller  than  the  Lilliputians. 

Right  here,  perhaps,  lies  the  crux  of  the  novelist's  dire  conclusions. 
He  may  feel,  as  many  others  have  felt  before  him,  that  California  is 
still  too  new,  too  absorbed  in  its  mighty  material  progress,  to  offer  any 
but  the  scantiest  encouragement  to  the  wondersmith  in  words  and 
the  alchemist  in  color.  To  the  absorbed  captain  of  industry,  no  doubt, 
the  poet,  his  more  than  brother  in  the  furthering  of  civilization,  seems 
but  "the  idle  singer  of  an  empty  day."  But  this  tragic  misunderstanding 
is  not  confined  to  California.  It  has  flaunted  its  banner  of  disdain  in 
all  countries  and  all  climes,  and  in  every  century.  And  everywhere 
and  always  the  red  rag  of  disbelief  has  not  fluttered  over  graveyards  of 
talent,  but  rather  over  innumerable  manifestations  of  its  indestructible 
life.  Beauty  is  truth,  truth  beauty — and  both,  when  joined  together, 
make  art,  which  therefore  must  rise  when  crushed  to  earth.  I  incline 
to  the  belief  that  Gray  cited  his  mute  inglorious  Milton  more  through 
the  stern  exigencies  of  rhyme  than  the  hard  claims  of  reason. 


G6 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Nor  is  it  true  that  our  native  sons  of  genius  have  been  compelled 
to  emigrate  to  find  recognition  and  emolument.  Bret  Harte  was 
acclaimed  in  San  Francisco  and  all  the  West  at  the  very  moment  when 
he  stepped  forth  and  showed  his  paces  in  poetry  and  story,  and  William 
Keith,  with  his  steady  income  of  $60,000  a  year  from  the  sale  of  his 
pictures  to  San  Franciscans,  might  have  bought  outright  every  one  of 
the  innumerable  live-oaks,  with  their  surrounding  green  acres,  that  he 
painted  so  wonderfully.  Neither  the  poet  nor  the  painter  found  it 
necessary  to  search  outside  California  for  material,  for  here  is  "atmos- 
phere" of  the  rarest,  local  color  of  the  richest,  on  every  side  "Elysian 
beauty,  melancholy  grace."  So  it  has  been  with  many  others  among  us, 
poets,  painters,  novelists,  musicians — and  how  numerous  they  have  been 
in  the  past  twenty-five  or  thirty  years!  When  they  went  "abroad,"  it 
was  for  study,  not  for  fame.  As  to  fortune — where  should  they  look 
for  it  if  not  in  the  land  of  the  fortunate  Forty-niners,  the  land  whose 
wide  entrance  gate  bears  the  name  "Golden"? 

No,  my  masters,  California  has  hitherto  been  the  graveyard  of  nothing 
but  imperishable  nuggets  of  gold,  and  soon  even  the  last  of  these  may 
be  suffered  to  lie  unmolested,  for  the  tiller  of  the  soil  has  found  greater 
treasure  in  the  orange  and  the  vine,  surer  returns,  for  his  digging,  in 
their  ruddy  gold  and  purple  bloom.  Which  brings  us  to  the  second 
chapter  of  the  wonderful  romance  of  California,  a  chapter  as  replete 
with  poetry  as  the  first,  and  with  a  thousand — ten  thousand — readers 
to  the  other's  one.  For  California  is  the  land  of  high  hopes  and  higher 
achievements,  and  where  achievement  follows  hope  you  will  find  a 
great  man,  and  a  great  man  begets  noble  sons  and  gifted  daughters.  It 
follows  as  the  night  the  day. 

Though  we  are  still  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  second  chapter  in  the 
romance,  each  page,  as  we  turn  it  eagerly,  holds  out  for  us  glorious 
promises,  and  not  the  least  glorious  is  California's  sure  progress  in  art 
accomplishment  and  art  appreciation.  We  find  advancement  and  under- 
standing in  all  the  arts,  but  I  propose  to  speak  more  specifically  of  the 
art  of  landscape  painting.  Art  was  not  dead  among  us,  even  in  '49, 
when  the  melting-pot  of  humanity  held  much  of  the  basest  alloy  with 
a  very  little  of  the  purest  gold,  but  the  vigor  of  its  life  and  growth  in 
the  past  decade  tinges  the  future  with  the  glory  of  a  new  renaissance, 
the  renaissance  of  the  Twentieth  century  and  the  Far  West.  Prophets 
have  foretold  it,  and  the  signs  are  coming  true. 

The  glory  of  that  renaissance,  I  doubt  not,  will  be  equally  divided 
between  the  North  and  the  South.  I  believe  that  in  landscape  it  will 
be  the  South  which  will  take  the  most  tremendous  forward  strides.  My 
faith  is  founded  on  the  past  performance  of  the  painters  of  Southern 
California,  and  even  more  on  the  "environment" — a  dangerous  but 
inevitable  word.  It  is  true  that  our  "perpetual  sunshine"  has  become  a 
pet  stock  phrase  with  us  in  the  South,  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  phrase 
is  true — almost.  Take  it  with  an  occasional  dash  of  rain,  and  you  are 
safe.  For  we  do  have  sunshine  so  nearly  perpetual  that  clouds  may  be 


SIX    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA  PAINTERS 


67 


considered  negligible  in  a  description  of  the  country  and  the  climate. 
And  who  questions  the  desirability  of  clear  skies  for  the  man  compelled 
to  work  out  of  doors?  Not  you,  not  I,  and  therefore  we  opine  that 
figure  and  portrait  painting  will  advance  to  efflorescence  in  Northern 
California,  pure  landscape  painting  in  the  South. 

Already,  indeed,  has  the  gentle  coercive  spirit  of  landscape  invaded 
the  studios  of  Los  Angeles,  Pasadena,  Santa  Barbara,  San  Diego,  coaxing 
their  occupants  into  the  open  and  urging  them  to  dismiss  the  human 
models.  The  most  of  them,  weary  enough  of  four  imprisoning  blank 
walls,  a  tiny  cage  set  in  this  vast  crystal  ball  of  opal  and  turquoise  and 
gold,  have  listened  and  obeyed — and  have  thus  strayed  forever  from  the 
cool  haunts  of  the  north  light.  The  seductions  of  landscape,  once  yielded 
to,  ever  after  seem  to  become  as  irresistible  as  the  loveliness  of  the 
Lorelei.  Of  the  six  landscape  painters  I  am  about  to  bring  to  your 
notice,  painters  already  happily  familiar  to  you,  I  make  no  doubt,  only 
two  —  William  Wendt  and  Elmer  Wachtel  —  have  never  toyed  with 
academic  traditions  of  form;  three  of  the  others,  once  good  painters  of 
the  figure,  now  neglect  it  absolutely;  and  only  one,  Warren  E.  Rollins, 
paints  both  figures  and  landscapes.  Mr.  Rollins  was  formerly  instructor 
of  figure  painting  and  drawing  in  a  San  Francisco  art  school,  which 
may  account  for  his  reluctance  to  be  off  with  his  old  love.  His  faithful- 
ness is  to  be  commended,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  expresses  it  so  well. 

The  six  painters  I  have  in  mind  are  thoroughly  representative.  Their 
number  might  be  doubled — even  trebled — for,  as  I  have  tried  to  point 
out,  Southern  California  is  preeminently  the  land  of  the  landscapist. 
But  as  I  must  dwell,  however  briefly,  on  the  work  of  each  of  the  chosen 
painters,  the  longer  list  would  extend  my  space  beyond  its  fixed  boun- 
daries without  in  any  way  increasing  my  scope.  The  others  have  not 
been  left  out  through  any  invidious  separation  in  talent,  but  because 
they  do  not  enter,  so  neatly  as  the  six,  into  what  the  artists  themselves 
would  call  my  "scheme."  They  would  spoil  the  composition — if  they 
will  pardon  the  pun.  An  embarrassment  of  riches  forces  me  to  seem 
niggardly  in  expenditure. 

We  have  many  good  woman  painters  in  Los  Angeles,  but,  for  the 
reason  already  made  clear,  Marion  Kavanaugh  Wachtel  is  the  only  one 
I  shall  mention.  It  may  be  said,  too,  that  by  right  of  talent  and  per- 
formance she  leads  them  all.  Mrs.  Wachtel  came  to  Southern  Cali- 
fornia from  Milwaukee  more  than  a  dozen  years  ago.  She  was  born  to 
art  as  the  sparks  fly  upward,  for  her  English  mother  and  her  Irish 
grandfather  were  both  painters,  and  others  in  the  family  have  been 
and  are  musicians  and  workers  in  literature.  She  began  her  artistic 
career  with  portraits  and  figures,  which  I  hope  she  will  some  day  hark 
back  to,  if  only  for  pastime  and  "a  change,"  for  she  does  them  exceed- 
ingly well.  In  California,  however,  she  turned  instinctively  and  at  once 
to  landscape,  and  chose  water-color  as  her  medium  of  expression.  She 
has  not  wavered  in  her  allegiance  to  this  wise  choice,  but  has  clung 
to  it  so  wholeheartedly  and  so  intelligently  that  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say 


68 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


that  she  is  now  one  of  the  most  brilliant  aquarellists  to  be  found 
anywhere. 

This  high  distinction  has  not  been  won  without  labor,  for  she  is  a 
tireless  student  of  nature,  painting  the  mountains  and  hills  and  valleys 
of  Southern  California  in  all  their  phases  and  in  every  season.  No 
touch  of  opaque  color  is  permitted  to  pollute  the  big  broad  washes  that 
flow  so  perfectly  from  her  brush,  and  the  result  is  a  marvelous  strength 
joined  to  an  exquisite  purity  of  tint.  She  and  her  husband,  Elmer 
Wachtel,  make  many  brief  sketching  pilgrimages  together,  every  year, 
and  of  late  have  even  included  the  snow-clad  High  Sierras  in  their 
itinerary,  for  their  little  car  seems  to  be  able  to  climb  anything.  Mrs. 
Wachtel  is  a  regular  contributor  to  the  exhibitions  of  the  New  York 
Water-Color  Society,  and  her  pictures  find  ready  sale  among  art  lovers 
in  Chicago  and  New  York  and  San  Francisco — not  to  mention  Los 
Angeles. 

None  but  nature  has  been  William  Wendt's  fostering  mother  in  art, 
and  this  is  almost  as  true  of  Elmer  Wachtel,  who  joined  the  Art  Students' 
League  of  New  York,  didn't  like  it,  and  quit  after  two  irksome  weeks. 
Both  men  preferred  the  freedom  of  the  trackless  woods — and  neither 
has  lost  his  way.  Each  very  soon  found  his  own  peculiar  "trail,"  and 
bravely  trudged  along  till  it  led  him  to  the  very  heights  of  artistic 
success.  And  each  found  it  in  Southern  California,  while  both  came  from 
Illinois.  Mr.  Wendt  was  born  and  "brought  up"  in  Chicago.  When  I  was 
a  student  in  the  Art  Institute,  perhaps  fifteen  years  ago,  his  first  exhibi- 
tion of  California  landscapes  was  held  there.  It  created  a  sensation 
among  us  students,  and  our  enthusiasm  was  shared  by  the  rest  of 
Chicago.  Here  was  a  new  and  ringing  note — 

"An  ampler  ether,  a  diviner  air, 
And  fields  invested  with  purpureal  gleams." 

Chicago's  pet  son  had  "made  good"  in  no  uncertain  manner,  and  we 
were  all  exceedingly  proud  and  pleased.  A  second  favorite  son,  Gardner 
Symons,  William  Wendt's  running  mate  and  close  friend,  was  destined 
to  do  likewise  in  New  York  and  London  only  a  year  or  two  later. 
Mr.  Wendt,  for  six  years  president  of  the  flourishing  California  Art 
Club,  was  made  an  associate  member  of  the  New  York  Academy  three 
years  ago,  and  on  this  occasion  Jean  Mannheim,  himself  a  good  land- 
scapist,  painted  his  portrait  for  the  gallery  of  immortals.  Another 
signal  honor  for  Mr.  Wendt  was  the  purchase  of  one  of  his  splendid 
California  pictures  for  the  permanent  collection  of  the  Art  Institute, 
and  of  course  he  is  represented  in  many  other  galleries,  public  and 
private.  He  is  a  masterly  technician,  a  painter  of  light  and  air.  Many 
of  his  soberly  poetic  compositions  show  us  that  mystic  and  enchanted 
time  of  day  when 

"The  tender  broom 
Of  morning  mist  has  hardly  swept  the  air 
Clean  of  night's  lingering  sorrow." 


SIX    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA  PAINTERS 


69 


Elmer  Wachtel's  preferred  hour,  on  the  other  hand,  is  that  which 
lays  its  brief  coronal  of  gold  and  rose  on  the  highest  of  the  mountain 
peaks  and  flings  its  rich  carpet  of  shadow  at  the  monarch's  feet.  His 
loveliest  lyrical  note  is  that  of  late  afternoon,  and  he  utters  it  in  as 
faultless  a  gamut  of  values  as  can  be  found  in  any  American  painter. 
Mr.  Wachtel's  technical  dexterity,  indeed,  is  an  element  of  danger  to 
himself,  and  he  once  confessed  to  me  that  he  dropped  water-color  when 
he  found  he  was  getting  to  be  "too  good"  in  it.  His  present  medium  is 
oil,  and  has  been  for  the  past  fifteen  years.  His  color  is  full  and  har- 
monious, his  composition  rhythmical  and  dignified.  His  brush-work,  as 
I  have  intimated,  is  something  to  marvel  at,  but  I  am  glad  to  add  that 
it  has  not  yet  become  too  sophisticated  for  either  him  or  us.  Mr. 
Wachtel's  devotion  to  Southern  California  has  brought  its  own  exceed- 
ing great  reward — he  has  been  eminently  successful,  both  as  a  painter 
and  a  "best  seller,"  but  his  popularity  has  not  induced  him  to  lower 
his  standards.  His  recent  pictures  of  the  snow-crowned  High  Sierras 
have  the  pure,  cold,  unearthly  beauty  of  much  of  Shelley's  poetry,  and 
many  of  them  were  painted  in  his  "preferred  hour." 

Most  present-day  French  painting,  in  landscape  no  less  than  in  the 
figure,  has  been  brought  by  Gallic  temperament  and  academic  training 
to  a  monotonous  level  of  icy  regularity,  splendid  nullity,  and  dead 
perfection.  The  world  is  too  much  with  it,  and  it  moves  us  not.  Fortu- 
nately, our  young  American  artists,  permeated  with  Paris,  escape  in 
time  to  a  freer  air  and  a  breezier  field.  Benjamin  Chambers  Brown,  a 
prize  pupil  from  St.  Louis,  was  coached  in  all  the  traditions,  but  his 
twenty  years  in  Pasadena  have  induced  him  to  drop  all  hampering 
impedimenta  of  prejudice,  and  cling  only  to  the  things  he  found  good 
— a  fine  and  sufficient  technique,  a  capacity  for  weighing  and  judging, 
an  interest  in  many  forms  of  artistic  expression.  You  can't  live  for 
twenty  summers  on  the  hem  of  Sierra  Madre's  magnificent  purple  gar- 
ment and  still  keep  up  your  Parisian  ideals  of  seeing  and  doing.  You're 
bound  to  start  new  fashions  of  your  own  that  are  absolutely  in  keeping 
with  your  environment.  For  here  is  nature  at  its  biggest  and  best, 
bigger  and  better  than  all  the  ateliers  put  together,  and  more  needful 
to  art.  Mr.  Brown  handles  his  paint  with  a  full  brush — one  might  almost 
say  with  a  full  heart — and  his  canvases  have  a  sort  of  impassioned 
energy,  especially  his  later  ones.  His  talent  is  alert  and  experimental. 
Last  year  he  conceived  and  started  the  Print  Makers,  a  club  of  etchers 
and  lithographers  whose  accomplishment  is  already  astonishingly  high. 
He  is  president  of  the  Print  Makers,  and  has  recently  been  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  California  Art  Club.  But  Mr.  Brown  carries  presidential 
and  exhibition  honors  easily,  being  too  intent  on  work,  and  yet  more 
work,  to  let  them  weigh  him  down. 

After  studying  art  in  Denver,  Hanson  Puthuff  came  on  to  Los  Angeles 
in  search  of  fresh  woods  and  new  pastures — in  short,  opportunity.  This 
was  ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  and  he  has  grown  with  our  growth,  so 
that  today  he  ranks  among  the  very  strongest  of  our  landscape  painters. 


70 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


But  even  in  that  day — which  now  seems  strangely  remote — he  was  no 
weakling.  I  remember  well  his  first  exhibition  of  pictures.  I  said  then 
that  the  young  artist  was  of  the  stuff  of  which  painters  are  made,  and 
that  his  future  would  be  one  of  interesting  progress.  His  steadily 
increasing  technical  excellence  has  more  than  sustained  my  opinion 
and  prophecy.  With  the  technique  has  come  a  larger  vision,  a  deeper 
insight.  Mr.  Puthuff  has  a  genius  for  composition,  as  he  amply  shows  in 
the  eight  mural  decorative  panels,  embodying  "The  Spirit  of  Cali- 
fornia," that  he  recently  painted  for  a  theater  at  Long  Beach.  His 
mountains  have  weight  and  volume,  his  undulating  hills  and  lush  valleys 
seem  to  throb  with  the  quick  warm  vitality  of  the  South.  He  paints  with 
a  full  brush  and  a  free  hand,  producing  pictures  that  hold  an  almost 
classic  bigness  of  effect.  Nowadays  no  portraits  of  representative  men 
or  pictures  of  charming  women  come  from  him,  though  in  past  years 
we  were  wont  to  look  for  them  in  every  exhibition  of  the  California 
Art  Club.  But  his  landscapes  have  become  so  fine  that  we  dare  not 
cavil,  for  we  are  assured  that  he  has  found  his  metier. 

The  desert,  even  more  than  the  sown,  has  claimed  Warren  E.  Bollins, 
whose  numerous  studies  of  Indian  life  have  a  poetic  quality,  a  search- 
ing and  sympathetic  truth,  that  makes  them  peculiarly  attractive  to  the 
lover  of  life  and  art.  Mr.  Bollins  has  lived  for  many  years,  off  and  on, 
among  the  communal  tribes  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  and  on  every 
return  to  his  studio  at  San  Gabriel  has  brought  with  him  pictures  of 
great  documentary  and  artistic  worth.  He  recently  planned,  and  has 
already  executed  in  part,  a  series  of  pictures  depicting  the  every-day 
life  of  the  Indian  from  primitive  times  to  the  present.  These  are  con- 
ceived in  a  large  spirit,  and  all  their  details  are  authentic.  Many  of 
the  redmen  are  seen  in  landscape  surroundings  and  under  the  yellow- 
gray  walls  of  the  crumbling  pueblos,  but  Mr.  Bollins  has  also  painted 
much  pure  landscape — the  desert  at  dawn  and  dusk,  under  the  brilliant 
sunlight  of  day  and  under  the  tender  radiance  of  the  harvest  moon — 
the  desert  asleep  in  the  sun  and  awake  in  the  storm — a  vividly  truthful 
and  beautiful  panorama,  the  picture  gallery  of  the  West,  and  of  the 
Western  Indian  as  he  was  and  is,  and  even  as  he  shall  be,  for  the  true 
artist  unrolls  the  scroll  of  Fate. 

California  the  graveyard  of  talent?  It  does  not  seem  so  to  me.  Bather, 
here  lies  talent's  richest  and  most  nourishing  soil,  below  its  brightest 
sun  and  its  clearest  skies.  That  soil  is  no  longer  fallow — it  has  begun  to 
germinate — and  oh,  the  signs  of  spring! 


WHAT  ART  MEANS  TO  CALIFORNIA 


By  ALMA  MAY  COOK 

IF,  AS  HERODOTUS  TELLS  US,  Egypt,  mother-land  of  the  civilized 
world,  cradle  of  the  arts,  the  Alpha  of  Western  civilization,  is  "the 
gift  of  the  Nile,"  then,  surely,  California,  daughter-land  of  the 
enlightened  centuries,  Athena  of  the  arts,  Omega  of  "Westward  the 
course  of  empire  takes  its  way,"  is  the  gift  of  the  God  of  Beauty,  the 
Master  Artist,  who  has  painted  it  in  the  glowing,  glistening  colors  of  the 
Western  sun  and  made  of  it  truly  a  "Land  of  Heart's  Desire." 

Today  California,  with  the  gentle  voice  of  the  siren  of  old,  with  all 
the  gifts  of  the  hoary  ages  of  the  past  and  the  promise  of  ages  yet  unborn, 
stands  in  this  year  of  our  Lord  with  outstretched  arms  to  the  world 
with  accomplishment  as  a  background  and  yet  further  accomplishment 
in  the  future.  Great  in  the  nation  she  stands,  virgin  soil  for  architect, 
sculptor,  and  painter  to  build,  to  carve,  and  to  adorn. 

Unique  in  her  growth,  attracting  as  a  magnet  the  civilization  of  the  older 
world,  art  is  to  California  as  the  sun  which  colors  the  flower — with 
a  beautiful  Elysian  field  extending  from  the  borderland  where  Oregon 
begins  to  that  other  border  of  the  land  of  mafiana.  And  in  the  days 
to  come  California  will  give  to  the  world  yet  another  gift  of  gold — a 
golden  diadem  for  the  world-art,  and  one  day,  when  she  herself  shall 
be  old  with  the  passing  of  the  years,  the  people  of  the  morrow  will  look 
back  to  the  art  of  California  as  we  of  today  look  back  to  the  priceless 
gift  of  Greece,  to  the  Renaissance  in  Raly,  and  the  more  modern  con- 
tributions to  the  art  of  the  world. 

If  ever  the  hand  of  Destiny  pointed  to  a  land  of  resources,  a  land  of 
attraction,  and  a  land  of  beauty,  surely  that  land  lies  along  the  Pacific 
Coast — California.  Eight  hundred  miles  in  length,  with  a  coast  line 
of  over  a  thousand  miles  from  the  rugged  north  to  the  semi-tropical 
southland,  with  158,360  square  miles  within  its  borders,  with  100,000,000 
acres  of  land,  California  is  in  area  equal  to  the  territory  from  Cape 
Cod  to  Charleston  in  South  Carolina — an  area  larger  than  all  of  New 
England,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania  combined.  Yet  again,  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  could  be  placed  on  the  map  of 
California  with  a  goodly  border  to  spare. 

California  has  the  highest  mountain  in  the  United  States.  It  has  the 
greatest  depth  in  desert  land.  Eternal  snows  and  perpetual  sunshine — 
height  with  its  mountain  grandeur,  depth  with  its  barren  desert  which 
is  being  made  to  blossom  as  the  rose,  California  is,  more  than  all  that,  a 
land  of  great  future  resources.  Beside  that  which  is  yet  to  be  taken  from 
the  earth  itself,  the  state  has  44,700  square  miles  of  forests,  an  area 


72 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


larger  than  the  combined  states  of  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Rhode 
Island,  Delaware,  and  Maryland. 

'  And  this  litany  of  gifts,  this  Te  Deum  of  praise  to  a  God  of  abundance, 
is  but  a  brief  recitation  of  that  which,  fifty  years  after  Columbus  sailed 
the  ocean  blue,  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo  found  when  he,  the  first  white 
man  to  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  Alta  California,  claimed  it  in  the  name  of  his 
God  and  His  Most  Catholic  Majesty,  the  King  of  Spain.  Up  the  coast  he 
sailed  in  his  Spanish  galleon  until  he  ended  his  voyage  with  Death  as  the 
pilot  in  the  unknown  harbor  of  Eternity.  Homeward  sailed  his  ships, 
and  an  earthly  king  had  added  to  his  kingdom  a  vast  domain  far  beyond 
the  borders  of  old  Castile.  Quiet  once  again  reigned  throughout  the 
Californias,  and  for  the  years  twice  reckoned  by  the  century  mark  the 
domain  was  practically  untouched.  Rut  infrequently  did  the  most 
intrepid  mariner  venture  along  the  coast.  The  struggles  of  a  nation  in 
its  birth  on  the  Atlantic  did  not  so  much  as  find  a  dim  echo — unknown 
was  the  East  in  the  West.  The  year  that  a  half-starved,  half-frozen 
army  passed  in  Valley  Forge,  fighting  for  the  independence  of  the  then 
little  Union,  found  the  brown-robed  Franciscan  padres,  followers  of 
St.  Francis,  beginning  their  long  journey  up  and  down  the  coast  to 
civilize  and  Christianize  the  native  Indians.  And  thus  began  the  romantic 
life  of  California  in  the  days  of  old,  long  before  the  days  of  gold,  when 
a  glistening  chain  of  twenty-one  missions  dotted  the  King's  Highway, 
each  a  day's  journey  from  the  other — buildings  which  today,  in  their 
ruins,  give  California  its  romance  and  a  distinctive  architecture,  a  rich 
heritage  from  the  past,  beloved  of  artists  and  laymen  alike. 

With  the  high  ministry  of  the  art  of  architecture,  beautiful  paintings 
and  impressive  chants  brought  from  the  old  world,  did  the  padres  civilize 
and  Christianize  their  Indian  charges.  The  sons  of  St.  Francis  carried 
out  the  admonition  of  St.  Augustine  that  art  is  the  text  book  of  the 
unlearned.  Today,  a  little  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  later,  we  go 
back  to  what  is  left  of  these  monuments  of  the  past  and  turn  a  few  more 
pages  in  the  same  text  book  and  find  a  message  of  art  for  this  day  and 
generation  for  religion,  music,  and  art  held  high  the  torch  of  service 
that  lighted  the  first  pages  of  California  history. 

Thus  slowly  did  the  mills  of  the  gods  grind,  but  exceeding  fine,  the 
pathway  over  which  Destiny  brought  later  thousands  and  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  the  new  Promised  Land — El  Dorado  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  California  until  the  famous  year  of  '49  was  but  a  sleeping  pos- 
sibility. Indeed,  that  year  found  but  fifty  houses  in  San  Francisco  and 
yet  fifty  years  later  $1,200,000,000  had  been  added  to  the  wealth  of  the 
world  through  gold  from  California  hills. 

Forth  from  this  background  fares  the  golden  state,  thirty-first  sover- 
eign commonwealth  of  the  Union  which  welcomed  it  in  the  seventy- 
fourth  year  of  its  independence — golden  in  its  past,  doubly  golden  in  its 
present,  and  thrice  golden  in  its  future.  Young,  with  all  the  virile 
strength  and  enthusiasm  of  youth,  despite  the  opening  of  the  great  war, 
it  has  in  these  months  just  closed  given  the  world  a  new  idea  and  ideal 


WHAT    ART    MEANS    TO  CALIFORNIA 


73 


of  the  practicability  of  art,  a  new  application  of  that  inspiring  definition 
of  art,  "applying  the  science  of  the  beautiful."  Half  a  century  ago  San 
Francisco  was  but  a  mining  town,  the  Pueblo  Nuestra  Senora  La  Reina 
de  Los  Angeles  de  Portiuncula  was  but  a  name  on  the  maps  yet-to-be, 
and  San  Diego  was  but  a  quiet  haven.  The  crime  of  extreme  youth,  of 
newness,  has  been  charged  against  the  state  by  the  older  civilizations. 
Guilty  then,  if  guilt  it  be,  but  through  its  very  youth,  through  this  self- 
same newness  does  it  today  offer  to  the  thinkers  and  the  workers  of  the 
world  the  greatest  opportunity  since  the  days  when  Pericles  and  Phidias 
gave  to  Greece  the  most  perfect  building  builded  by  human  hands,  the 
greatest  opportunity  since  Ghiberti,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Raphael,  and 
Michael  Angelo  created  those  masterpieces  to  which  all  the  world  does 
homage. 

Greece  was  not  hoary  with  age  when  she  became  the  crown  jewel  in 
the  diadem  of  art.  Material  and  national  growth  preceded  her  art.  The 
material  prosperity  of  her  princely  houses  made  possible  the  golden  age 
of  art  in  Italy.  Commercialism  preceded  art,  as  it  ever  does.  Man  must 
have  a  habitation  before  he  can  or  will  think  of  adornment  for  it. 

It  is  said  that  the  coming  half  century  will  see  America  virtually  com- 
pleted as  regards  her  great  buildings.  As  a  nation  we  have  been  too  busy 
with  the  necessary  pioneer  work  of  a  new  people  in  a  new  country. 
Today  as  we  stand  one  of  the  great  peoples  of  the  civilized  globe,  to 
whom  all  the  world  looks  with  respect,  the  chief  exponent  of  the  great 
cause  of  liberty  of  mind,  soul,  and  body,  it  is  all  but  impossible  to  realize 
that  less  than  a  century  and  a  half  ago  America  had  but  a  few  isolated 
communities,  struggling  at  a  disadvantage.  Ruildings  were  first  and 
foremost  places  for  habitation  or  for  the  transaction  of  necessary  busi- 
ness. The  utilitarian  aspect  was  a  necessity.  Rut,  as  in  the  ages  of  the 
past,  once  housed,  man  looks  about  to  better  his  condition  materially 
and  mentally.  We  have  reached  our  material  growth,  come  into  the 
full  stature  of  manhood  and  womanhood  as  a  people  and  as  a  commer- 
cial unit  in  the  commerce  of  the  world.  Today  the  United  States  is 
building  the  buildings  which  shall  go  down  to  posterity  for  good  or  for 
ill,  as  the  people  and  the  cities  follow  either  the  vision  of  the  beautiful 
or  bend  the  knee  before  the  altar  of  Mammon.  Not  alone  is  California 
young  in  the  arts,  for,  although  it  is  difficult  to  realize  the  fact,  it  was  but 
forty  years  ago  that  La  Farge  gave  to  America  its  first  real  mural  paint- 
ing in  Trinity  Church  of  Roston.  Rut  as  the  arts  have  always  flourished 
after  a  period  of  development  and  blossomed  into  an  independent  vigor, 
we  as  a  people  stand  at  the  opening  door  of  opportunity — the  oppor- 
tunity of  a  great  and  prosperous  nation  ready  to  take  up  the  arts  as  they 
have  been  handed  down,  a  sacred  legacy,  and  in  turn  to  hand  them  on  to 
generations  yet  to  come,  strengthened  and  refined  because  of  America's 
contribution  to  art. 

If  this  is  the  message  of  the  age  to  America  as  a  whole,  it  comes  a  clear 
and  clarion  call  to  California,  and  as  a  still  small  voice  to  the  soul  of 
every  Californian.   Geographically,  California  stands  in  the  pathway  of 


74 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


a  kind  fate.  Materially  it  has  been  blessed  with  all  the  gifts  of  "time's 
noblest  offspring." 

It  is  said  that  America,  through  the  guiding  hand  of  Providence, 
remained  undiscovered  until  the  civilization  of  the  old  world  had 
reached  a  high  pinnacle,  that  the  world  might  have  yet  another  oppor- 
tunity and  a  virgin  land  in  which  to  develop  its  highest  and  best  art 
and  civilization.  As  the  old  world  gave  all  its  gifts  to  the  new,  so  the 
civilization  of  the  new  world  gives  the  gifts  of  the  ages  to  California, 
for  the  last  frontier  of  Western  civilization  in  a  land  where  the  West 
faces  the  East. 

California  faces  the  east  both  ways.  Looking  toward  the  Atlantic  it 
faces  the  east  and  looking  toward  the  Orient  it  faces  the  east.  Just  so  it 
is  facing  a  glorious  dawn  in  its  art  and  architecture  which  is  but  the  first 
rung  on  the  ladder  of  fame  that  it  will  ascend  in  the  years  to  come,  which 
shall  be  as  a  veritable  Jacob's  ladder  come  true. 

"But  California  is  so  isolated,  so  far  from  the  center  of  the  art  world," 
comes  the  wail  of  the  last  few  years.  Isolated,  yes;  far  away  from  the 
great  salons,  yes — but  have  you  who  scan  these  words  not  in  your  own 
life  come  to  realize  that  that  which  seemed  an  insurmountable  obstacle 
was,  in  reality,  a  blessing  in  disguise?  We  are  in  a  way  isolated,  we  are 
far  distant  from  the  older  centers  of  art,  but  that  will  prove  a  blessing 
for  which  we  should  thank  a  kind,  but  unappreciated  fate.  Because  of 
our  distance  we  are  more  self-dependent,  and  therefore  more  self-reliant. 
We  but  hear  of  the  latest  "style"  in  art.  The  newest  "ists"  and  "isms" 
are  but  names  to  us.  We  are  not  even  exposed  to  the  contagion.  But  let 
a  great  truth  come,  even  in  the  most  remote  part  of  the  earth,  and  its 
very  truth  gives  it  vitality  to  cross  ocean  and  continent,  so  that  only  that 
which  is  really  worth  while  finds  its  way  to  our  golden  shores  to  remain 
and  become  a  part  of  the  growing  art.  Yet  another  reason  for  thankful- 
ness: we  lack  the  "atmosphere"  which  attracts  the  dilettante.  We  are 
as  yet  something  of  pioneers  and  it  is  only  the  true  artist  in  heart  and 
soul  who  is  willing  to  help  build  up  the  art  to  come.  It  is  the  worth- 
while men  and  women  who  come  to  our  shores  to  call  them  home. 

But  greater  than  these :  we  have  the  great  opportunity — an  opportunity 
that  comes  but  seldom  to  a  people  and  which  should  be  welcomed  with  a 
prayer  for  guidance,  that  we  of  today  may  not  be  weighed  in  the  balance 
of  the  years  to  come  and  be  found  wanting.  For  if  the  coming  half  cen- 
tury means  the  completion  of  America  architecturally,  each  day,  each 
year  means  not  only  that  much  toward  the  completion  of  California,  but 
rather  that  much  toward  the  beginning.  For,  as  we  face  the  glorious 
dawn,  not  only  do  we  in  California  contemplate  the  completion  of  our 
great  buildings,  but  rather  the  beginning. 

As  a  state  we  have  but  few  of  the  great  structures — state,  county, 
municipal,  and  individual — which  will  one  day  mark  our  sunny  acres. 
We  have  the  hard  pioneer  days  as  a  background,  we  have  the  necessary 
material  wealth,  we  have  the  growing  public  interest  and  appreciation, 
and  a  virile  cosmopolitan  population.  It  is  because  of  all  these  that  art 


WHAT    ART    MEANS    TO  CALIFORNIA 


75 


means  perhaps  more  to  California  than  to  any  other  part  of  the  land — 
California  a  beautiful  flower,  awaiting  its  crowning  glory — for  as  the 
sun  colors  the  flower,  so  does  art  color  life. 

The  Chicago  World's  Fair  taught  the  desirableness  and  commercial 
value  of  beauty  and  demonstrated  the  mutual  inter-dependence  of  the 
art  of  construction  and  design.  But  the  California  expositions  have  done 
more  than  this,  far  more,  for  they  have  brought  a  lasting  knowledge  not 
only  to  those  within  the  borders  of  the  state,  but  to  all  the  world,  of  the 
artistic  possibilities  of  the  state  and  a  realization  of  what  art  may  mean 
to  California. 

In  that  fairy-land  come  true,  in  that  vision  of  the  dreams  of  the  cen- 
turies visualized  in  buildings  which  in  color  and  design  caught  the  very 
breath  in  one's  throat,  and,  sobbing,  held  it  there  until  involuntary 
tribute  had  been  paid  to  those  who  builded  for  the  God  of  the  things  as 
they  are;  in  that  achievement  was  sounded  the  forward  march  to  the 
great  army  of  Californians  with  the  inspiration  voiced  so  long  ago  by 
the  great  Da  Vinci:  "the  conquest  of  glory  is  greater  than  the  glory  of 
conquest"  emblazoned  on  California's  virgin  white  banner  as  it  faces 
the  dawn  of  all  the  morrows. 

To  every  man  and  woman,  nay,  even  to  the  little  child,  comes  the  call 
of  opportunity,  comes  the  call  of  service,  comes,  mayhap,  even  the  call  of 
sacrifice.  Personal  ambitions,  personal  gain,  the  glorification  of  the 
individual  must  come  second  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole.  Commer- 
cialism, as  merely  the  glorification  of  the  dollar,  must  not  be  allowed  to 
gain  a  foothold;  for  with  the  call  to  service  before  the  open  door  of 
opportunity,  comes  also  the  call  that  the  stronger  help  the  weaker.  And 
with  it  comes  also  that  old,  old  query  first  voiced  in  that  land  which  the 
world  calls  holy:  "Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  In  answer  echoes  the 
age-old  command  of  personal  responsibility,  the  command  that  each 
one  live  up  to  the  best  that  lies  within  him,  giving  and  guiding,  for  as 
in  the  distribution  of  the  talents,  those  with  the  greater  number  have 
the  greater  responsibility.  But  each  one  has  something,  whether  it  be 
the  building  of  a  dream-like  miracle  in  stone,  a  Palace  of  Fine  Arts,  or 
the  blending  of  the  colors  in  an  humble  garden  spot. 

It  will  take  courage — red,  red  courage  of  love;  it  will  take  a  back- 
ground of  loyal  and  royal  blue,  and  it  will  take  the  twinkling  white  stars 
of  purity  of  purpose  and  purity  of  self.  But  with  these,  California,  the 
wonder-land,  will  unfurl  a  flag  worthy  its  sovereign  starry  banner  and 
what  California  means  to  art  will  be  emblazoned  in  the  high  heavens 
revealing  that  we  were  true  to  the  great  opportunity,  true  stewards  of 
the  talents  entrusted  to  us,  that  we  will  have  given  back  to  the  world 
an  art  enriched  with  a  new  contribution  and  a  new  vision.  The  Koran 
proclaims  that  God  has  granted  to  every  people  a  prophet  in  its  own 
tongue.  Then  1915  has  proclaimed  beauty  and  art,  the  prophet  of  the 
land  where  sets  the  sun. 

The  Japanese  say  "truth  to  self,"  the  French  say  "personal  interpre- 
tation," but  in  Anglo-Saxon  we  say  "Individuality"  is  the  greatest  gift 


76 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


of  the  artist.  What  California  Means  to  Art  will  be  a  gift  of  individu- 
ality that  we  may  become  strongly  and  thoroughly  American,  true  to  our 
country  and  true  to  ourselves.  This  is  the  gift  which  California  will 
give  in  the  years  to  come. 

We  have  the  God-given  warp,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  stretches  of 
land  in  all  the  world,  hills  and  valleys,  cities  and  towns,  awaiting  the 
greatest  gift  which  man  may  make  to  nature,  the  application  of  the 
science  of  the  beautiful.  The  gift  of  the  ages  comes  to  us  in  the  great 
opportunity,  a  new  land  which  has  grown  so  rapidly  that  it  has  not  had 
time  to  make  many  architectural  and  artistic  mistakes  to  be  unmade  in 
the  future  years.  A  new  land  with  the  vision  of  the  beautiful  comes  to 
us  with  the  shuttle  of  stone  and  paint  to  weave  the  woof.  To  the  Cali- 
fornians  of  today  is  given  the  opportunity  to  weave  that  design  over  hill 
and  valley,  city  and  town,  which  shall  give  to  all  the  world,  so  long  as 
time  shall  endure,  the  message  of  What  Art  Means  to  California  and 
What  California  Means  to  Art. 

Comes  California  facing  the  dawn  with  a  song  on  her  lips,  a  song  in 
her  heart,  a  song  to  gladden  all  the  world  with  her  gift  of  beauty,  for  she 
is  calling,  calling  still  in  the  words  of  John  S.  McGroarty : 

"Thus  hath  she  called  with  her  lips  of  song 

Of  old,  with  her  breath  of  musk; 
From  the  hills  where  the  sunlight  lingers  long, 

And  the  vales  in  the  purpled  dusk. 
And  so,  from  her  heart's  unwearied  love, 

Rings  her  voice  with  its  olden  thrill; 
From  the  seas  below  and  the  skies  above 

She  is  calling,  calling  still." 


A  BRILLIANT  FUTURE  FOR  AMERICAN  ART 


By  WILLIS  POLK 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  through  the  Exposition,  has  had  a  taste,  a  glimpse 
of  art.   She  has  been  taught  the  value  of  beauty.   She  will  not  in 
the  future  willingly  forego  any  opportunity  to  gratify  the  taste  thus 
acquired. 

We  already  have  education,  perhaps  in  a  higher  degree  than  else- 
where, and  a  consequent  yearning  for  better  things;  throughout  the 
country  vague  discontent  with  public  work  prevails,  the  sort  of  dis- 
content that  with  our  people  always  precedes  improvement.  Now  the 
millions  that  have  seen  our  Exposition  have  understood  at  once  what  is 
needed  to  effect  a  change.  They  have  seen  that  though  a  pool,  a  grassy 
bank,  or  a  building  might  of  itself  be  beautiful,  each  alone  may  appear 
ugly  in  the  midst  of  inharmonious  surroundings,  and,  moreover,  that 
no  one  of  them  by  itself  can  be  as  beautiful  as  a  union  of  them  all. 
The  Exposition  Fine  Arts  Palace,  its  lagoon,  and  gardens  have  proved 
this,  the  people  at  large  have  discovered  it,  and  are  delighted. 

A  comprehensive  survey  of  American  art,  its  past  and  present,  can  not 
be  made  without  including  some  consideration  of  its  future.  A  compre- 
hensive survey  can  not  be  made  at  all  unless  minute  attention  be  given 
to  its  evolution  in  detail;  this  could  only  be  done  in  a  series  of  articles 
carefully  prepared  by  a  number  of  especially  competent  observers. 

The  present  tendency  in  American  art  presages  a  brilliant  future; 
for  the  past  two  decades  we  have  been  content  to  worship  at  the  shrine 
of  the  past  and  to  accept  with  eagerness  replicas  of  different  epochs. 
This  is  particularly  true  of  architecture.  We  have  had  endless  beautiful 
reproductions  from  the  hands  of  our  best  architects,  some  so  exquisitely 
done  that  no  doubt  they  will  in  the  future  be  referred  to  as  examples 
of  twentieth-century  renaissance;  but  the  true  renaissance  of  our  day, 
the  true  expression  of  our  ideals,  will  crystallize  only  after  our  architects, 
with  proper  consideration  for  precedent,  become  bold  enough  to  assert 
an  individuality  of  their  own. 

California  is  supremely  endowed  by  nature  for  the  development  of 
art  in  all  its  phases.  Here  are  the  Rome  and  Athens  of  the  new  world. 
This  gorgeous  land  has  a  broadness  and  wholesomeness  of  spirit  that 
make  it  a  field  for  the  cultivation  of  the  arts.  It  is  an  ideal  field  for  the 
painter.  The  spirit  of  the  air  is  exemplified  in  the  freedom  of  the 
artist's  touch.  Here  where  nature  displays  herself  in  her  most  artistic 
mood,  there  is  a  life  and  virility  that  the  painter  feels  each  time  he  puts 
his  brush  to  the  canvas.  Here  among  the  poppy-covered  hills,  where 
purplish  shadows  cast  their  tinge  upon  the  eucalyptus  aisles,  where  palm 


78 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


and  cypress  stand  out  upon  the  ocean  cliffs,  a  new  art  springs  into 
blossom. 

Here  at  the  Golden  Gate  has  been  revealed  as  never  before  the  vigor 
of  American  art.  And  I  feel  that  the  influence  which  is  so  favorable  to 
the  painter  is  undoubtedly  equally  favorable  to  the  architect.  The 
climate  on  these  Western  shores  permits  the  architect  to  give  his  struc- 
tures a  setting  of  flowers,  shrubbery,  and  trees  not  possible  in  a  more 
rigorous  zone.  The  brilliant  sunlight  permits  of  the  widespread  use  of 
color  on  the  structures;  the  sea,  the  hills,  and  the  endless  vistas  call  for 
majesty  of  outline,  and  inspire  the  architect  to  meet  nature,  which  has 
challenged  him  by  reason  of  the  sublimity  of  her  settings;  here  he 
must  fashion  his  designs  to  scale  with  and  fit  into  the  majestic  sur- 
roundings that  nature  has  provided. 

How  very  real  is  the  influence  of  environment  upon  the  architecture 
of  a  given  country  and  how  vividly  is  the  spirit  of  a  people  reflected  in 
the  architecture  of  their  native  land  may  be  suggested  by  recalling  the 
situation  of  Athens  and  of  Rome,  with  their  people  free-spirited,  imag- 
inative, in  touch  with  the  lofty  mountains,  and  with  the  Mediterranean 
so  that  from  their  very  history  and  from  the  land  they  sprang,  they 
drew  those  inspiring  conceptions,  those  prodigious  works  of  architec- 
ture, those  exquisite  sculptures  which  have  been  patterned  by  the  world 
for  more  than  two  thousand  years.  As  we  of  California  increase  in 
artistic  appreciation,  in  artistic  vigor,  in  sentiment,  and  in  the  love  of 
beauty,  so,  too,  from  this  civilization  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean 
there  will  arise  architectural  standards  that  will  be  regarded  by  the 
world  for  all  time,  and  will  serve  to  enlighten  and  uplift  the  generations 
to  come.  As  we  grow  in  daring,  and  with  due  regard  to  the  lessons  of 
the  past  are  enabled  to  express  our  own  ideals,  so  will  America  more 
nearly  approach  the  desired  renaissance. 


CALIFORNIAN  SCULPTORS 


DANCING  BACCHANTE 


By  Robert  Aitken 


Plate  No.  202 


BEYOND  By  Chester  Beach 


Plate  No.  203 


Plate  No.  204 


POPPY  NYMPH  By  Joseph  J.  Mora 


Plate  No.  205 


Plate  No.  20G 


HFAD  OF  LOUIS  SLOSS,  JR. 


Plate  No.  207 


By  Ralph  Stackpoi.e 


Plate  No.  208 


TRAUMEREI 


By  J.  McQuarrie 


Plate  No.  209 


WALL  FOUNTAIN  By  Maud  Daggett 

Bronze  replica  in  the  garden  of  Mrs.  F.  L.  Loring,  Pasadena,  Cat. 


Plate  No.  210 


Plate  No.  211 


Plate  No.  212 


THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  FINE  ARTS  AT  THE 
PANAMA-PACIFIC  INTERNATIONAL 
EXPOSITION 

By  JOHN  E.  D.  TRASK 
PART  I 

^T^IAR  FROM  RELIEVING  that  the  social  mission  of  art  is  at  an  end, 
»H  or  drawing  near  that  end,  I  think  it  will  play  a  greater  part  in 
the  twentieth  century  than  ever,  and  I  think — or  at  least  hope — 
that  greater  importance  than  ever  will  be  attached  to  the  study  of  art 
as  a  branch  of  culture.  This  study  is  one  which  no  civilized  man,  what- 
ever his  profession,  should  ignore  in  these  days."  These  are  the  con- 
cluding words  of  M.  Salomon  Reinach's  "Apollo,"  perhaps  the  most 
widely  read  book  on  the  history  of  art  throughout  the  ages  which  has 
been  published  since  the  twentieth  century  began. 

If  the  social  mission  of  art  be  destined  to  play  throughout  the  world  in 
the  twentieth  century  a  more  important  part  in  civilized  life  than  ever 
before,  surely  there  is  no  part  of  the  world  where  its  effect  will  be  of 
more  potent  influence  than  it  will  be  upon  the  Pacific  Coast  of  the  United 
States,  a  land  rich  in  material  wealth,  both  developed  and  undeveloped, 
populated  by  a  great  and  growing  people  whose  own  temperament  is 
essentially  artistic. 

While  necessarily  the  appeal  of  the  Panama-Pacific  International 
Exposition  was  to  a  world-wide  audience,  in  the  organization  of  the 
Department  of  Fine  Arts  of  that  Exposition,  it  was  borne  constantly  in 
mind  that  the  highest  privilege  and  the  paramount  duty  of  the  depart- 
ment was  service  to  the  people  of  the  West,  a  service  which  perhaps  for 
many  years  would  be  without  appreciation  and  which  might  well  be 
expected  during  the  course  of  the  Exposition  itself  to  have  no  apparent 
effect.  It  seemed,  therefore,  necessary  in  order  that  the  department 
might  fulfill  its  highest  function,  that  the  exhibition  arranged  by  it  should 
be  something  more  than  a  collection  of  art  treasures,  not  necessarily 
co-related,  but  should  be  such  a  collection  as  would  make  possible  to  the 
serious  student  an  understanding  of  the  relationship  now  existing  among 
the  artists  of  the  various  nations  of  the  world,  and  especially  the  position 
and  importance  in  the  world  of  the  artists  of  America,  with  some  logical 
presentation  of  the  development  of  the  Fine  Arts  of  America  from 
colonial  and  revolutionary  times  down  to  the  present,  and  at  least  some 
suggestion  of  the  various  foreign  influences  which  have  affected  that 
development.  This  then  became  the  purpose  of  the  department,  and 
without  thought  of  whether  its  mission  has  been  feebly  or  well  executed, 
without  consideration  of  the  question  of  what  might  have  happened  had 
not  a  world  war  cast  its  shadow  over  civilization  while  the  exhibition 


82 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


was  in  a  formative  period,  it  is,  nevertheless,  a  fact  that  the  response  of 
the  people  of  the  West,  their  understanding  and  appreciation  of,  and 
their  sympathy  for  work  heretofore  comparatively  unknown  to  them, 
has  been  such  as  to  convince  many  that  the  next  great  forward  move- 
ment in  the  Fine  Arts  will  center  about  the  Golden  Gate. 

The  United  States  section  of  the  exhibition  necessarily  is  of  first  impor- 
tance, and  perhaps  no  portion  of  the  United  States  section  plays  greater 
part  in  explanation  of  what  our  artists  are  now  doing  than  does  the 
Historical  Section. 

Benjamin  West  and  John  Singleton  Copley  are  usually  mentioned  as 
the  first  American  painters,  though  both  of  them  reached  their  highest 
development  abroad.  Beginning  then  with  them,  Copley  represented  by 
a  single  portrait,  and  West  by  a  "Portrait  of  Miss  Peel"  and  a  typical 
figure  composition  of  "Mary  Magdalene  Anointing  the  Feet  of  Christ,"  we 
find  presented  in  the  series  of  galleries  devoted  to  this  section  a  fairly 
comprehensive  historical  sequence  of  painting  in  the  United  States.  More 
important  than  either  West  or  Copley,  if  performance  be  the  test  of 
importance,  was  Gilbert  Stuart,  the  first  really  great  painter  of  America. 
Contemporary  with  the  great  British  portraitists  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, he  is  considered  by  many  as  being  the  equal  of  the  best  of  them. 
Beturning  to  this  country  from  London  before  his  powers  had  reached 
their  fullest  development  Stuart  never  had  opportunity  for  the  execution 
of  important  portrait  compositions.  It  is  not  known  that  he  ever  exe- 
cuted a  single  life  size  portrait  group,  and  the  number  of  full  length 
portraits  which  came  from  his  talented  brush  are  very  few.  It  is,  there- 
fore, by  his  portrait  busts  and  half  length  canvases  that  he  must  be 
judged.  It  is  fortunate  that  such  typical  examples  of  his  work  as  the 
"Portrait  of  General  Dearborn"  and  the  "Portrait  of  President  Madison," 
together  with  three  other  examples  are  found  in  this  exhibition.  Stuart 
was  a  pupil  of  West  in  London,  and  of  West's  other  pupils,  perhaps  the 
most  important  here  represented  are  Charles  Willson  Peale,  Washington 
Allston,  Joseph  Wright,  whose  interesting  canvas,  "Joseph  Wright  and 
Family,"  comes  to  the  Exposition  from  the  Pennsylvania  Academy  of 
the  Fine  Arts,  the  richest  storehouse  of  early  American  paintings  which 
we  have,  and  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  known  to  thousands  as  the  inventor 
of  the  electric  telegraph  who  have  never  before  known  that  he  was  a 
portrait  painter  of  great  distinction.  Such  works  as  his  "Portrait  of 
William  Cullen  Bryant"  and  his  "Portrait  of  Mrs.  Olyphant"  would  have 
entitled  him  to  a  high  place  in  history  had  his  inventive  genius  not  other- 
wise added  to  the  wealth  of  the  world. 

"The  Fourth  of  July  in  Center  Square,"  painted  in  1811  by  John  Lewis 
Krimmell,  is  an  epitome  of  the  life  and  fashion  in  Philadelphia  of  that 
time,  while  the  beginning  of  landscape  painting  in  America  is  repre- 
sented by  the  works  of  Thomas  Doughty,  Asher  B.  Durand,  and  Thomas 
Cole.  The  first  American  sculptors,  William  Bush  and  John  Frazee,  show 
the  beginnings  of  their  art  in  this  country  in  self  portraits  of  each.  Such 
pictures  as  "Militia  Training,"  by  James  G.  Clonney,  and  "War  News 
from  Mexico,"  by  B.  Caton  Woodville,  and  the  famous  "Drummer  Boy," 


DEPARTMENT    OF    FINE  ARTS 


83 


by  Eastman  Johnson,  show  the  development  of  the  anecdotal  school  until 
it  reaches  its  highest  American  development  in  such  canvases  as  "Break- 
ing Home  Ties,"  by  Thomas  Hovenden,  and  in  rather  more  distinguished 
manner  in  the  "Penance  of  Eleanor,"  by  Edwin  A.  Abbey.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  "Breaking  Home  Ties,"  by  Hovenden,  which  was  the 
most  talked  of  picture  in  Chicago  in  1893,  has  here  attracted  no  especial 
consideration  except  as  an  excellent  example  of  one  of  the  phases  of 
the  art  of  painting  in  America  which  has  been  left  behind. 

To  index  the  influence  of  other  schools  of  painting  upon  our  own, 
the  Loan  Collection  in  the  United  States  Section  has  its  chronological 
beginning  in  a  single  canvas  by  Guido  of  Siena,  produced  in  the  thir- 
teenth century.  Timoteo  Viti,  Luini,  represented  by  a  superb  piece  of 
fresco  from  the  collection  of  Mr.  Piatt  of  Englewood,  N.  J.;  Bassano, 
Bibera,  Tintoretto,  and  Cornelius  Engelbrechtsen  from  The  Netherlands, 
are  drawn  upon  to  further  show  these  influences.  Corot,  Bousseau, 
Daubigny,  and  a  superb  example  of  Troyon  represent  the  Barbizon 
School.  Hogarth,  Gainsborough,  Bomney,  Beynolds,  Baeburn,  and  Law- 
rence, among  others,  show  from  what  source  American  portrait  painting 
had  its  precise  beginnings,  while  examples  of  Valasquez,  Goya,  and 
Courbet  suggest  various  forces  which  the  student  can  not  neglect.  So, 
too,  a  single  example  of  Turner  marks  the  great  climax  of  the  romantic 
school  of  landscape. 

An  entire  gallery  is  given  to  the  French  impressionists,  in  which  a 
group  of  seven  variously  dated  canvases  by  Claude  Monet  endeavor  to 
suggest  the  whole  arc  of  the  development  of  that  illustrious  painter  as 
typical  of  his  school. 

From  such  sources  as  these  have  developed  the  American  artist  of 
yesterday  and  today.  An  effort  has  been  made  adequately  to  represent 
such  leaders  of  the  generation  which  just  preceded  our  own  as  Inness, 
Wyant,  Homer  Martin,  William  Morris  Hunt,  the  illustrious  John 
La  Farge,  Edwin  A.  Abbey,  Charles  Walter  Stetson,  Theodore  Bobinson, 
and  Winslow  Homer,  and  so  the  student  comes  into  the  field  of  those 
who  are  today  creating  or  who  have  but  recently  died. 

In  the  United  States  Section  there  are  over  forty-five  hundred  cata- 
logued works,  and  it  is  manifestly  impossible,  within  the  limits  of  a 
magazine  article,  to  more  than  suggest  the  wealth  and  variety  of  this 
collection.  Geographically,  as  well  as  artistically,  the  entire  country  is 
represented,  and  for  the  catholicity  of  the  exhibition  the  public  is 
indebted  to  Advisory  Committees  of  artists  covering  various  sections  of 
the  country.  In  the  selection  of  works  from  the  vast  number  submitted 
(only  about  20  per  cent  of  those  submitted  to  juries  were  accepted)  the 
service  was  required  of  artist-juries  meeting  in  London,  Paris,  Boston, 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  and  San  Fran- 
cisco. The  standard  for  acceptance  at  these  various  meeting  points  was 
kept  at  the  same  approximate  level  through  a  system  of  interlocking 
membership  in  the  various  juries,  and  one  of  the  great  surprises  of  the 
exhibition  is  the  very  large  number  of  California  artists  represented. 
These  number  no  less  than  eighty-eight  painters,  nine  sculptors,  and 


84 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


eighteen  artists  whose  works  are  shown  in  the  Department  of  Prints, 
the  total  number  of  works  shown  by  them  being  four  hundred  and 
twenty,  which  is  a  considerable  exhibition  in  itself.  It  is  also  interesting 
to  note  that  twelve  painters  who  are  Californians,  now  resident  else- 
where, show  thirty-two  works;  three  sculptors  similarly  removed  show 
eleven  works,  and  two  etchers  show  eight  works,  so  that  it  may  be  said 
that  the  total  number  of  works  by  Californians  is  four  hundred  and 
seventy-one,  and  the  general  quality  of  these  is  such  that  the  future 
of  the  Fine  Arts  in  California,  from  the  creative  point  of  view,  is 
extremely  bright. 

As  has  been  noted,  the  hope  of  the  exhibition  has  been  that  it  would 
make  its  strongest  appeal  to  the  serious  student,  and  with  this  thought  in 
mind  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts  especially  arranged  for  a  series  of 
"one  man"  exhibitions  in  the  United  States  Section.  A  thorough  under- 
standing of  the  work  of  any  painter  can  not  be  had  from  observation 
of  but  one  or  two  of  his  works,  and  a  thorough  understanding  of  the 
point  of  view  and  accomplishment  of  any  painter  who  has  widely 
influenced  his  fellow  professionals  assists  to  an  understanding  of  others 
working  more  or  less  in  the  same  vein,  whose  representation,  by  reason 
of  lack  of  space,  is  less  large.  In  the  selection  of  those  American  painters 
to  be  in  this  way  honored  by  the  department,  and  who  would  themselves 
in  this  way  honor  the  exhibition,  the  effort  was  made  to  find  the  smallest 
number  who  would  index  the  various  directions  in  which  painting  in 
the  United  States  has  signally  advanced,  and  to  give  a  somewhat  geo- 
graphical representation,  as  well  as  a  proper  balance,  between  the  dif- 
ferent schools  of  painting.  Perhaps  the  most  important  feature  of  the 
United  States  Section  is  these  "one  man"  galleries,  and,  while  it  is  no 
doubt  true  that  other  men  might  have  been  selected  who  would  have 
made  strong  showing,  could  collective  groups  of  their  works  have  been 
gathered  together,  the  general  feeling  prevails  that  no  one  of  the  men 
who  were  selected  has  failed  in  establishing  the  wisdom  of  his  choice. 

The  galleries  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  late  James  McNeill  Whistler 
contain  sixty-three  examples,  including  paintings  in  oil,  water  colors, 
pastels,  etchings,  and  lithographs,  the  prints  being  segregated  in  a  little 
room  apart  from  the  gallery  in  which  are  shown  his  more  important 
paintings  which  include  the  famous  "Falling  Rocket,"  the  identical 
canvas  which  brought  about  the  Whistler-Ruskin  engagement,  a  number 
of  canvases  never  before  seen  in  this  country  together  with  a  very 
generous  contribution  from  the  famous  Freer  collection.  John  Singer 
Sargent,  resident  in  London,  is  represented  by  thirteen  canvases,  among 
them  being  the  "Portrait  of  Henry  James,"  which  perhaps  has  attracted 
more  attention  by  reason  of  its  being  slashed  by  suffragettes  in  London 
than  it  has  had  in  tribute  to  its  own  splendid  qualities.  Gari  Melchers, 
born  in  Detroit,  and  recently  resident  in  Weimar,  Saxony,  shows  twenty- 
one  canvases  which  give  to  the  visitor  opportunity  for  understanding 
the  genius  which  has  made  him  the  recipient  of  most  of  the  honors 
which  Europe  has  to  bestow.  Childe  Hassam  of  New  York  fills  a  gallery 
in  such  a  manner  as  worthily  to  uphold  his  position  as  perhaps  the 


DEPARTMENT    OF    FINE  ARTS 


85 


leading  performer  in  his  own  particular  vein,  while  William  M.  Chase  of 
New  York  and  Frank  Duveneck  of  Cincinnati,  each  in  a  gallery  of  his 
own,  show  in  varied  manner  the  tradition  of  the  Munich  School  brought 
by  them  to  this  country  in  the  seventies  and,  in  the  case  of  Chase,  at 
least,  the  personal  development  which  has  grown  out  of  that  tradition. 
To  Duveneck  was  given,  at  the  suggestion  of  every  foreign  member  of 
the  International  Jury  of  Award,  the  signal  honor  of  a  Special  Com- 
memorative Medal. 

The  late  John  H.  Twachtman,  Edward  W.  Redfield  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  late  William  Keith  of  California  have  devoted  to  the  works  of 
each  an  entire  gallery,  in  which  will  be  found  full  expression  of  the 
heights  to  which  landscape  painting  can  soar  in  various  directions;  while 
Edmund  C.  Tarbell  of  Boston  has  been  selected  as  typical  of  the  group 
of  painters  of  whom  he  has  long  been  the  leader.  In  his  own  especial 
metier,  no  man  has  exceeded  Tarbell  in  accomplishment. 

A  full  gallery  is  divided  between  two  California  painters,  Francis 
McComas  and  Arthur  F.  Mathews,  who  worthily  uphold  their  tradition. 
Eighteen  landscapes  painted  in  the  Panama  Canal  Zone  represent  Alson 
Skinner  Clark.  Two  galleries  are  devoted  to  the  works  of  the  late 
Howard  Pyle  of  Delaware,  one  devoted  to  illustrations  in  color,  the 
other  to  black  and  white,  and  there  are  small  galleries  given  over  to 
pastel  drawings  by  John  McLure  Hamilton,  and  to  lithographs  and  etch- 
ings by  Joseph  Pennell. 

All  of  these  special  "one  man"  groups  aid  in  the  understanding  and 
appreciation  of  the  hundreds  of  painters  who  have  placed  their  pro- 
fession upon  as  high  a  plane  in  America  as  it  occupies  in  any  other  part 
of  the  world.  Indeed,  there  are  many  of  the  opinion  that  the  average 
standard  of  accomplishment  is  higher  today  in  America  than  in  any 
other  land. 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  the  various  fields  of  water  color  paint- 
ing, miniature  painting,  and  illustration  have  been  neglected — all  are 
well  represented — and  the  Department  of  Prints  seems  especially  note- 
worthy. To  it  in  the  United  States  Section  a  half  dozen  galleries  are 
devoted,  in  which  may  be  traced  the  development  of  etching,  engraving, 
and  lithography  in  America,  beginning  with  John  Foster's  portrait  of 
the  Reverend  Richard  Mather,  the  first  print  to  be  made  in  America,  and 
including  nearly  two  thousand  representative  works  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished contemporary  American  workers  in  their  fascinating  media. 

One  of  the  features  of  the  exhibition  which  differentiates  it  sharply 
from  any  preceding  exhibition  held  in  America  is  the  installation  of 
sculpture  out  of  doors.  The  Fine  Arts  Building,  itself  an  artistic  creation 
of  amazing  beauty,  has  afforded  opportunity  for  the  happy  placing  of 
much  sculpture  within  the  colonnade  which  extends  along  its  entire 
front,  and  the  peculiar  and  delightful  climatic  conditions  of  San  Fran- 
cisco have  rendered  this  installation  practicable. 

The  great  circular  sweep  of  the  colonnade  is  adorned  with  fountain 
figures  and  groups  which  accent  and  adorn  its  architectural  majesty. 
Such  works  as  Berge's  "Wildflower,"  fountains  by  Janet  Scudder,  the 


86 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


beautiful  bronze  "Piping  Pan,"  by  Louis  St.  Gaudens,  the  marble 
"L' Amour,"  by  Evelyn  Beatrice  Longman,  and  the  bronze  "Maiden  of 
the  Roman  Campagna,"  by  Albin  Polasek,  each  serves  to  enhance  the 
beauty  of  its  surroundings,  and  is  in  turn  by  them  most  charmingly 
presented. 

The  entrance  to  the  colonnade  at  the  south  end  is  flanked  on  either 
side  by  the  "Seated  Lincoln"  of  Augustus  St.  Gaudens,  and  the  standing 
figure  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  by  J.  Q.  A.  Ward.  Between  these  two 
heroic  monuments  one  gets  a  vista,  the  focus  of  which  is  the  marble 
"Muse  Finding  the  Head  of  Orpheus,"  by  Edward  Berge,  which  is 
perhaps  the  most  beautiful  single  piece  of  installation  in  the  whole 
exhibit.  "Buffalo,"  by  Proctor;  the  heroic  equestrian  "The  Scout"  of 
Cyrus  Dallin;  and  "Diana,"  by  Haig  Patigian  of  San  Francisco,  and 
scores  of  other  works  adorn  the  gardens  which  surround  the  lagoon, 
which  day  and  night  reflects  the  Fine  Arts  Building. 

Beneath  the  great  dome  of  the  rotunda,  in  front  of  the  main  building, 
sits  in  majesty  the  "Lafayette"  of  Paul  Bartlett,  made  as  a  gift  from  the 
school  children  of  America  to  the  Republic  of  France.  This  is  perhaps 
the  most  successful,  as  it  certainly  is  the  most  important,  work  ever 
executed  by  an  American  sculptor.  Various  works  of  Daniel  Chester 
French,  Karl  Bitter,  Herbert  Adams,  and  others  adorn  the  arches  and 
recesses  to  the  great  rotunda,  while  between  it  and  the  main  entrance 
to  the  building  proper  there  stands  the  dignified  and  forceful  "Pioneer 
Mother,"  by  Charles  Grafly,  which,  at  the  close  of  the  Exposition,  is  to 
find  its  permanent  home  in  San  Francisco's  Civic  Center. 

Within  the  building  the  sculpture,  generally  speaking,  smaller  in 
scale  than  that  which  is  shown  out  of  doors,  is  as  far  as  possible  shown 
in  groups  following  the  same  general  plan  as  has  been  pursued  with 
the  paintings.  It  is  interesting  to  note,  too,  that  the  sculpture  and  paint- 
ings are  shown  together,  each  helping  the  other  in  aesthetic  effect,  even 
in  the  large  central  gallery  or  patio  devoted  largely  to  the  showing  of 
sculpture,  paintings  by  Alexander  Harrison,  Robert  Vonnoh,  Howard 
Gardiner  Gushing,  and  Charles  J.  Dickman  are  installed  with  good 
decorative  effect. 

Twelve  foreign  nations,  Japan,  France,  Uruguay,  Cuba,  Italy,  China, 
the  Philippine  Islands,  Sweden,  Portugal,  Argentine  Republic,  Holland, 
and  Norway,  are  each  represented  by  a  distinctly  national  section,  each 
under  the  control  of  its  own  commission,  and  each  adequately  presenting 
the  contemporary  work  of  the  artists  of  that  country. 

It  is  extremely  interesting  to  trace  in  these  various  national  sections 
something  of  the  varying  national  characteristics  and  traditions,  to  study 
the  artistic  manifestations  of  different  racial  traits,  and  to  reform  from 
their  artistic  manifestations  the  characters  and  lives  of  the  different 
peoples  of  the  world.  Did  one  possess  supreme  knowledge  of  painting 
one  could  gain  from  this  exhibition  an  almost  universal  insight  into 
the  mind  of  man. 

The  International  Section  contains  works  from  artists  of  Great  Britain, 
Spain,  Austria,  and  Hungary,  nations  not  represented  at  the  Exposition 


DEPARTMENT    OF    FINE  ARTS 


87 


by  special  art  commissions,  together  with  the  first  presentation  of  the 
works  of  the  Italian  Futurists  ever  seen  in  America;  a  collective  exhi- 
bition of  the  work  of  Axel  Gallen-Kallela,  the  eminent  Finnish  painter, 
now  for  the  first  time  seen  in  this  country;  a  series  of  East  Indian  pic- 
tures by  Albert  Besnard,  the  eminent  Frenchman,  and  a  wide  diversity 
of  other  works.  The  showing  of  Hungarian  artists  is  in  every  way  worthy 
of  being  classed  as  a  separate  national  section  were  it  not  for  the  fact 
that  there  is  no  Hungarian  art  commission  to  the  Exposition.  In  the 
International  Section,  beside  the  works  of  the  Italian  Futurists  already 
referred  to,  there  is  much  that  is  generally  referred  to  as  "modern." 
Exactly  what  this  term  means  it  is  hard  to  define,  but  there  is  here  to  be 
found  a  multiplicity  of  proof  that  the  painters  throughout  the  world  are 
today  interesting  themselves  in  the  emotional  side  of  their  art  rather 
more  than  in  the  purely  intellectual  side.  The  Department  of  Fine  Arts 
holds  no  brief  for  this  school  of  painting  nor  for  that;  it  has  aimed  to 
gather  together  for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  but  primarily  for 
the  people  of  the  West,  a  representative  collection  showing  what  the 
artists  of  all  the  world  are  doing  today,  as  well  as  to  presage  and  to 
influence  an  intelligent  development  among  the  artists  of  tomorrow. 

The  International  Jury  of  Award  in  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts  was 
good  enough  to  say  in  filing  its  final  report,  "that  in  its  opinion  this  exhi- 
bition of  sculpture,  painting,  and  engraving  is  the  best  ever  held  in  the 
United  States  (even  though  there  is  absence  by  reason  of  the  European 
War  of  many  foreign  works  which  would  have  added  to  its  complete- 
ness) and  that  it  should  have  a  far  reaching  effect  upon  the  appreciation 
and  understanding  of  art.  Moreover,  it  is  its  opinion  that  the  Depart- 
ment of  Fine  Arts  deserves  the  warmest  congratulations  for  its  achieve- 
ment which  has  been  performed  under  the  most  trying  and  unexpected 
conditions,"  and  many  expressions  from  professional  artists  and  the 
lay  public  would  seem  to  support  its  view.  Many  of  the  works  of  con- 
temporary artists  have,  by  purchase  from  this  exhibition,  found  per- 
manent place  in  both  public  and  private  collections,  but  the  final  test 
of  the  success  or  failure  of  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts  will  not  be 
had  during  the  continuance  of  the  Exposition.  If  successful  it  must 
necessarily  lead  to  a  wider  appreciation  of  the  Fine  Arts  in  the  West, 
and  if  there  be  a  growing  appreciation,  the  opportunity  for  establishing 
in  San  Francisco  a  permanent  art  institute  worthy  of  the  city  and  State 
will  not  be  lost.  San  Francisco  and  California  have  today  an  opportunity 
to  build  for  the  future,  which  for  years  to  come  they  may  not  have  again. 
The  success  of  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition  as  a  whole 
has  been  due,  more  than  to  any  other  single  cause,  to  the  aesthetic  lessons 
which  it  has  taught.  Its  influence  will  continue  to  be  felt  for  years  to 
come,  but  the  opportunity  for  crystallizing  and  preserving  that  influence 
may  be  lost  if  it  be  not  immediately  embraced. 

Let  it  be  hoped  that,  as  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  Philadelphia 
awakened  the  aesthetic  sense  of  the  East,  as  the  Chicago  Exposition  of 
1893  revivified  the  artistic  life  of  the  Middle  West,  that  the  San  Francisco 
Exposition  of  1915  may  prove  to  be  the  real  starting  point  of  a  growth 


88 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


of  the  love  of  beauty  in  the  West,  where  every  element  of  beauty  now 
exists,  needing  only  the  fusing  influence  of  man's  endeavor  to  make  it 
man's  servant  for  better  and  higher  things  in  social  life. 

PART  II 

IN  THE  Department  of  Fine  Arts  at  the  Panama-Pacific  International 
Exposition  the  work  shown  by  California  artists  is  sufficiently  varied 
and  extensive  to  make  an  exhibition  about  the  size  of  the  leading 
annual  exhibitions  of  the  East,  and  the  average  of  this  work  is  of  such 
quality  as  to  offer  splendid  encouragement  to  those  who  are  interested  in 
the  development  of  the  fine  arts  in  California.  Its  variety  also  encourages 
optimism.  Perhaps  the  worst  that  can  be  said  for  this  work,  considered 
as  a  whole,  is  that  the  California  landscape  painters,  with  a  few  notable 
exceptions,  have  based  their  creative  work  upon  the  ideas  and  ideals  of 
others,  and  have  not  derived  their  inspiration  from  their  native  land- 
scape. This  is  the  more  surprising  because  the  California  landscape 
itself,  in  variety,  in  color,  in  structural  form,  and  in  atmospheric  con- 
ditions, lends  itself  peculiarly  to  the  painter's  purpose. 

In  considering  landscape  paintings  in  California  one  necessarily  thinks 
of  Francis  McComas,  the  water  colorist,  who  is  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished workers  in  that  medium  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  country. 
He  is  given  in  the  Exposition  the  honor  of  a  special  gallery  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Arthur  F.  Mathews  and  shows  of  his  work  ten  representative 
examples.  Of  these,  the  "Oaks  of  the  Monte"  is  perhaps  as  characteristic 
as  any  and  this  canvas  alone  would  show  him  to  be  a  master  of  design 
and  an  expert  handler  of  his  medium,  yet  his  work  does  not  especially 
reflect  California,  and  he  must  be  classed  as  an  imaginative  painter 
rather  than  as  a  realist.  Of  the  men  who  have  made  successful  effort 
in  the  direction  of  realism,  H.  J.  Breuer,  represented  by  four  mountain 
subjects,  is  perhaps  the  most  noteworthy  if  one  except  the  work  of 
William  Ritschel,  who  does  not  yet  class  himself  as  a  Californian, 
although  he  has  reached  his  greatest  accomplishment  at  Carmel-by-the- 
Sea  and  produced  along  the  California  coast  marines  which  have  won 
him  honors  everywhere.  William  Wendt  of  Los  Angeles  is  another  of  the 
landscape  painters  whose  recognition  in  the  East  has  perhaps  exceeded 
that  which  he  has  received  in  his  own  home,  but  here  again  one  finds 
charming  powers  of  design  and  a  thoroughly  decorative  instinct  leading 
the  painter  away  from  pictorial  realism.  The  landscapes  shown  by 
Florence  Lundborg,  charming  as  they  are  and  talented  as  this  painter 
is,  are  not  of  California  subjects,  nor  is  she  distinctly  a  landscape  painter. 
Her  greatest  contribution  to  the  art  of  the  Exposition  has  been  a  delight- 
ful and  distinguished  series  of  decorations  which  she  has  made  for  the 
Woman's  Board,  which  adorn  one  of  the  large  rooms  in  the  California 
Building.  These  are  so  admirably  adapted  to  their  purpose,  so  distin- 
guished in  intention,  and  so  altogether  successful  in  execution,  as  to 
make  them  worthy  of  the  highest  praise.  The  tempera  paintings  of 
Eugen  Neuhaus  can  not  be  overlooked,  even  in  the  briefest  mention  of 
the  accomplishment  of  Californians,  nor  can  the  work  of  Bruce  Nelson, 


DEPARTMENT    OF    FINE  ARTS 


SO 


Hanson  Puthuff,  and  Granville  Redmond,  whose  two  tender  landscapes 
here  shown  make  up  in  sympathetic  handling  for  what  they  may  per- 
haps lack  in  strength.  Piazzoni  and  Fernand  Lungren  are  other  names 
which  remain  in  memory  after  one  has  passed  through  the  galleries, 
although  the  single  example  by  the  last-named  painter  exhibits  some- 
what the  impossibility  of  grasping  the  Grand  Canyon  in  its  entirety 
as  a  paintable  subject,  while  in  water  color  Lucia  K.  Mathews  has,  with  a 
single  example,  made  real  impression  upon  the  exhibition. 

Among  those  who  may  be  classed  distinctly  as  portrait  painters,  one 
man  and  one  woman,  each  with  an  international  reputation,  seem  to 
lead  the  profession  here.  They  are  Mary  Curtis  Richardson  and  Herman 
Herkomer.  The  latter's  "Portrait  of  Sir  Hubert  Herkomer,  R.  A.,"  is  a 
canvas  which  ought  to  find  permanent  home  in  some  great  public  collec- 
tion, while  such  a  canvas  as  Mrs.  Richardson's  "Young  Mother"  exhibits 
a  happy  combination  of  strength  and  tenderness  which  is  rare,  indeed. 
In  this,  as  in  her  "Sleeping  Child"  and  her  "Portrait  of  Professor  Paget," 
she  shows  herself  a  technician  of  high  order,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
sympathetic  appreciator  of  philosophic  truth.  E.  Charlton  Fortune 
exhibits  such  a  variety  of  more  than  promising  work  that  it  is  hard  to 
classify  this  talented  young  painter,  and  there  are  a  score  of  other  names 
which  one  endeavors  to  fix  in  memory  in  expectation  of  presently  meet- 
ing with  accomplishment  of  the  highest  order.  Nor  is  the  so-called 
"modern"  movement  without  its  followers  in  California.  Anne  Bremer 
and  Henry  V.  Poor,  in  widely  differing  manner,  show  the  effect  of  those 
movements  which  have  led  painting  in  search  of  heretofore  rather  too- 
little-understood  truths,  and  show  also  a  growing  understanding  of 
them,  while  the  "Portrait  of  Miss  Isabelle  P."  by  Betty  de  Jong  is  a 
delightfully  unconventional  portrait  somewhat  in  the  same  vein.  Of 
California  painters  the  late  William  Keith  was  for  many  years  the 
accepted  leader,  and  to  him  has  been  given  a  "one-man"  gallery.  That 
his  place  among  American  landscape  painters  is  high  is  an  accepted 
fact.  That  his  contribution  to  his  fellow  painters  is  less  than  it  might 
have  been  seems  to  be  demonstrated  by  his  collected  showing  here.  The 
Barbizon  painters  made  their  great  contribution  to  the  world  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  ago.  The  place  of  the  Forest  of  Fontainebleu  is 
placed  for  all  time,  and  while  no  doubt  the  individual  works  of  Keith 
possess  both  beauty  and  charm,  his  attitude  and  accomplishment  (if  one 
is  to  judge  by  the  works  shown  at  the  Exposition)  are  too  much  an 
echo  of  the  past  to  place  him  among  those  who  have  been  the  great 
leaders  in  his  profession.  A  man  of  widely  different  talent,  upon  whom 
the  mantle  of  Keith  as  the  most  distinguished  of  California  painters 
seems  to  have  fallen,  is  Arthur  F.  Mathews,  whose  real  understanding  of 
color,  of  composition,  and  of  draftsmanship  places  him  among  the  great 
painters  of  the  country,  and  whose  taste  gives  to  each  of  his  canvases 
the  quality  known  as  distinction,  while  his  controlled  imagination  and 
his  ingenious  pictorial  and  painter-like  devices  give  to  his  works  the 
enduring  quality  of  charm.  To  a  certain  extent  the  work  of  Mathews  is 
doing  and  will  continue  to  do  for  the  artists  of  California,  and  let  it  be 


!)(» 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


hoped  for  a  wider  audience,  what  the  work  of  Whistler  did  for  the 
world. 

Of  the  sculptors,  J.  J.  Mora,  with  his  delightful  Indian  subjects,  and 
Haig  Patigian  must  have  especial  mention,  while  no  one  who  has  seen 
it  is  likely  to  forget  the  little  group  entitled  "Mrs.  Sloss  and  Children" 
by  Ralph  W.  Stackpole. 

Of  the  marble  "Vanity"  by  Haig  Patigian,  Paul  W.  Bartlett,  himself 
the  greatest  of  American  sculptors,  has  spoken  in  highest  praise,  refer- 
ring to  it  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  marbles  in  the  entire  Exposition. 

However,  the  California  sculptor  whose  work  reaches  the  very  highest 
level  is  Arthur  Putnam,  who  shows  fourteen  small  bronzes  of  animal 
subjects  of  such  power  and  such  personal  force,  and  such  technical 
ability,  as  to  insure  for  him  a  position  of  high  standing  among  the 
animal  sculptors  of  the  world. 

In  the  Department  of  Prints,  Piazzoni,  mentioned  among  the  painters, 
here  makes  deeper  impress,  while  the  works  of  Perham  Nahl,  Robert  B. 
Harshe,  Clark  Hobart,  and  Louis  Mullgardt  entitle  each  of  these  artists 
to  fuller  comment  than  is  here  possible. 

Summed  up  in  its  entirety,  the  contribution  of  California  artists  to 
the  Department  of  Fine  Arts  is  such  as  to  make  a  real  impress  upon  the 
exhibition,  which  is  drawn  widely  from  the  leading  creative  artists  of 
the  world. 

PART  III 

In  the  last  days  of  November,  1915,  after  the  preceding  short  chapters 
had  been  written,  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Inter- 
national Exposition,  in  response  to  a  very  large  public  demand,  decided 
to  continue  an  exhibition  of  painting  and  sculpture  in  the  Palace  of 
Fine  Arts  until  May  1,  1916,  although  the  Exposition  as  a  whole  was  to 
close  December  4. 

It  seems  likely  that  neither  the  public  which  requested  this  exhibition 
nor  the  board  of  directors  which  ordered  it  fully  understood  the  com- 
plexity of  the  problem  presented.  Thanks,  however,  to  the  public- 
spirited  attitude  of  the  board  of  directors,  to  the  immediate  and  prompt 
co-operation  of  artists  all  over  this  country,  to  the  sympathetic  attitude 
of  several  of  the  foreign  commissioners,  and  especially  to  the  efficient 
co-operation  and  able  assistance  of  the  president  of  the  Society  of  San 
Francisco  Artists,  the  proposed  extended  exhibition  has  become  a  reality. 

Of  the  foreign  works  in  the  Exposition  there  has  been  retained  intact 
the  Norwegian  section  and  the  section  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  together 
with  those  portions  of  the  international  section  which  included  works 
by  Hungarian  and  Austrian  artists,  works  by  the  Italian  Futurists,  and 
the  representative  collection  of  works  by  Axel  Gallen-Kallela,  the  famous 
Finnish  painter.  The  works  by  British  artists,  too,  have  been  retained, 
and  while  a  number  of  works  from  the  Holland  section  have  (because  of 
previous  engagement)  been  withdrawn,  this  section  is  perhaps  stronger 
now  than  during  the  Exposition  proper,  through  the  activity  of  Mr.  G.  E. 
De  Vries,  the  manager  of  the  section,  who  made  an  especial  trip  to 


DEPARTMENT    OF    FINE  ARTS 


91 


Holland  and  returned  with  a  selected  group  of  paintings  of  great  interest 
and  importance. 

Through  the  co-operation  of  the  American  Federation  of  Arts  a 
score  of  important  paintings  representing  various  European  schools 
have  been  added  to  the  collection  and  there  has  been  installed  two 
galleries  of  paintings  forwarded  by  the  Chilean  national  government, 
representing  the  artists  of  that  country  and  received  in  San  Francisco 
too  late  to  have  been  previously  installed  in  the  Palace  of  Fine  Arts. 

The  United  States  section,  depleted  by  sales,  has  been  built  up  again 
through  replacements  by  the  artists  whose  works  were  sold  and  by 
additions  of  great  importance  from  artists  who,  for  one  reason  or 
another,  were  not  represented  in  the  Exposition  proper. 

Among  these  latter  Joseph  De  Camp  and  Frank  W.  Benson  have  made 
valuable  contributions.  An  entire  gallery  representing  the  work  of 
Arthur  B.  Davies  shows  the  recent  development  of  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting seekers  after  aesthetic  truth  that  America  has  yet  produced,  and 
an  entire  gallery  devoted  to  the  works  by  John  Marin  introduce  to  the 
West  a  water-color  painter  who  is  destined  to  high  place  in  the  art 
history  of  this  country.  Men  somewhat  represented  in  the  Exposition, 
especial  collections  of  whose  works  are  shown  in  separate  galleries,  are 
Walter  Griffin,  George  Bellows,  and  Charles  H.  Woodbury.  Ernest  Law- 
son,  Arthur  B.  Carles,  Walt  Kuhn,  Henry  L.  McFee,  and  C.  Bertram 
Hartman  are  among  those  who  have  greatly  strengthened  the  showing 
originally  made  by  them  with  works  of  extraordinary  interest  in  various 
directions.  A  gallery  has  been  devoted  to  the  recent  etchings  of  Mr. 
Frank  W.  Benson,  who  is  better  known  as  a  painter  than  as  an  etcher, 
which  may  also  be  said  of  Childe  Hassam,  who,  like  Benson,  has  recently 
made  fascinating  use  of  the  etcher's  needle  and  a  group  of  whose  works 
is  also  added  to  the  print  collection. 

To  sum  up:  The  entire  one  hundred  and  twenty  galleries  of  the 
Palace  of  Fine  Arts  were  rehung  and  with  the  possibility  of  a  less 
crowded  hanging,  the  effect  of  the  galleries  as  a  whole  is,  in  the  opinion 
of  many,  more  agreeable  than  it  was  before.  Something  over  six  thou- 
sand works  are  now  presented  to  the  people  of  San  Francisco  as  a  tem- 
porary art  exhibition. 

Size  is  by  no  means  the  measure  of  the  value  of  an  art  exhibition, 
but  the  number  of  living  American  artists  whose  work  is  of  pre- 
eminent importance  who  are  not  represented  is  extremely  small,  and 
the  effort  has  been  made  with  some  success  to  preserve  a  standard  as 
high  or  higher  than  that  of  the  United  States  section  of  the  Exposition, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  the  exhibition  is  about  fifteen  times  as  large  as 
the  usual  annual  exhibition  of  the  National  Academy  of  Design  in  New 
York,  and  more  than  ten  times  as  large  as  the  usual  annual  exhibition 
of  any  one  of  the  leading  art  institutions  of  the  East.  Without  the  gen- 
erous co-operation  of  the  artists  themselves  such  a  result  would  have 
been  impossible,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  hoped  that  the  public,  which 
called  for  this  extension,  may  not  neglect  the  opportunity  of  profit- 
ing by  it. 


THE  EXPOSITION:  AN  EXPRESSION  OF 
ARTISTIC  POWER 


By  JOHN  McLURE  HAMILTON 


ITIES,  like  men,  allow  their  opportunities  to  pass  them  by.   I  still 


have  reason  to  remember  a  day  at  Christy's,  in  London,  twenty 


years  ago,  when  I  saw  with  amazement  six  or  seven  paintings  by 
Degas  knocked  down  at  prices  not  exceeding  three  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  apiece.  Such  an  opportunity  has  never  recurred  for  acquiring  a 
group  of  masterpieces,  and  I  look  back  upon  that  time  with  an  ever- 
increasing  regret,  and  an  omnipresent  sense  of  an  irreparable  loss. 

So,  with  Chicago,  the  city  that  had  the  then  unique  privilege  of  possess- 
ing upon  its  lake  shore  a  sham  white  stucco  city  which  surpassed  in 
beauty  and  grandeur  anything  that  had  been  seen  upon  this  continent. 
The  contrast  between  this  beautiful  unreal  thing  and  the  hideous  reality 
where  the  citizens  pursued  their  commercial  and  social  life,  was  so  strik- 
ing that  I  asked  the  Chicagoans  whom  I  met  if  the  sham  city  could  not 
be  made  real  and  the  real  one  obliterated.  The  answer  came  that  there 
was  not  enough  civic  enterprise,  or  sufficient  money  to  accomplish 
such  a  gigantic  feat. 

Chicago's  bricks  and  mortar  remain — the  water-front,  once  so  classi- 
cally adorned  by  temples  and  colonnades,  by  fountains  and  lagoons — 
has  been  disfigured  by  the  smoke  and  steam  of  commercial  enterprise. 

A  similar  opportunity  has  now  presented  itself  to  San  Francisco.  On 
the  shores  of  a  beautiful  bay,  which  probably  has  not  a  rival  in  the 
world,  another  wonderful  sham  city  has  been  built.  From  the  heights 
it  glimmers  opalescent,  suggesting  an  Oriental  dream  of  fairy  palaces. 
Down  in  the  gardens  among  the  palaces,  the  pavilion  in  which  stands 
Paul  Bartlett's  statue  of  Lafayette,  the  trees,  the  hedges,  and  the  lagoon, 
peopled  by  myriads  of  water-fowl,  suggest  the  idea  of  permanence,  of 
stability,  even  of  age.  Through  the  arches  of  the  colonnades,  glimpses 
of  the  recently  built  white  and  gray  houses  of  San  Francisco  give  an 
impression  of  the  domestic  architecture  of  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
The  water-front  of  a  city  is  always  potentially  its  most  attractive  feature, 
but,  unfortunately,  this  is  oftentimes  not  recognized  until  almost  too 
late,  as  in  London,  where  it  has  not  been  many  years  since  the  embank- 
ment, which  now  runs  from  the  Houses  of  Parliament  to  Black  Friars, 
was  built.  The  stranger  entering  London  from  the  south  is  met  by  a 
spectacle  of  unusual  splendor.  From  the  Houses  of  Parliament  in  the 
west  to  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's,  arising  majestically  in  the  east,  the  archi- 
tecture is  enhanced  by  the  high  stone  wall  which  forms  a  rampart  to  the 
swiftly  flowing  tides  of  the  Thames.  On  the  south  side  of  the  river,  on 
the  contrary,  warehouses,  wharves,  and  ugly  shot-towers,  which  at  night 


THE  EXPOSITION 


ARTISTIC  POWER 


93 


present  a  splendid  field  for  blatant  advertisement,  still  disfigure  the 
river.  Whistler  may  not  have  agreed  with  me — he  frequently  selected 
the  wharves,  the  barges,  the  lightermen  for  the  subject  of  some  of  his 
most  masterly  etchings,  but  we  are  now  dealing  with  that  branch  of  art 
known  as  architecture,  not  etching.  It  is  the  ambition  of  architects,  and 
always  has  been,  to  enrich  their  cities  with  majestic  buildings  and 
massive  bridges.  A  prosperous  town  aims  to  sweep  away  the  evidence 
of  the  means  of  its  prosperity. 

There  is  but  one  city  where  commerce  seems  to  mingle  naturally  and 
appropriately  with  the  general  design  and  character  of  the  architecture. 
That  city  is  Amsterdam.  Its  commercial  waterways  wind  in  and  out 
among  the  houses  of  the  wealthy,  barges  laden  with  the  produce  of  the 
East,  glide  to  and  fro  all  day  long,  in  complete  harmony  with  the  old 
brick  residences  of  the  burghers,  who  can  watch  from  their  front 
windows  their  cargoes  reflected  in  the  waters  of  the  canal.  In  a  some- 
what similar  way,  Venice  combines  its  social  and  commercial  life,  but 
Venice  has  the  Piazza  San  Marco  and  the  Doges'  Palace.  When  the  citi- 
zens of  Paris  decided  to  hold  their  last  international  exposition,  they 
commenced  to  build  in  ample  time  and  in  solid  stone,  with  a  view  to 
permanency,  the  Trocadero,  the  Palais  des  Beaux  Arts,  and  Palais  de 
L'Industrie.  This  bespoke  the  enterprise  and  the  foresight  of  a  clear- 
thinking  people.  With  the  exception  of  these  buildings,  the  fair,  and  it 
was  a  real  fair,  having  all  the  ephemeral  characteristics  of  such,  sug- 
gested nothing  permanent.  When  the  tawdry  imitative  domes  and  min- 
arets were  cleared  away  Paris  gained.  This  can  not  be  said  of  the 
Panama-Pacific  Exposition  of  San  Francisco.  When  the  buildings  and 
the  courts  are  removed  from  the  Marina,  San  Francisco  will  lose  some- 
thing which  it  may  never  be  able  to  regain,  and  I  feel  the  importance  of 
insisting  upon  the  opportunity  now  presented  to  beautify  the  water- 
front. The  best  place  for  an  art  gallery  is  as  near  the  center  of  a  city  as 
possible.  The  best  patronized  gallery  of  pictures  is  the  Royal  Academy  of 
London,  which  stands  easy  of  access  in  the  most  frequented  thoroughfare 
of  the  metropolis.  The  National  Gallery  in  Trafalgar  Square  is  also  well 
attendeed,  but  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  owing  to  its  comparative 
remoteness,  and  in  spite  of  its  extensive  and  rich  collections  of  every 
kind  of  artistic  treasure,  is  shamefully  neglected.  But  as  San  Francisco  is 
to  have  a  permanent  art  gallery,  and  as  there  is  already  a  Fine  Arts 
Palace,  most  fortunately  placed  in  a  setting  of  unusual  attractiveness,  it 
would  behoove  the  architects  of  this  great  city  to  consider  seriously  the 
advantages  of  the  present  site,  before  finally  deciding  upon  another. 

The  latent  talent  and  genius  which  California  possessed,  were  stirred 
into  action  by  the  call  of  the  creators  of  the  Exposition,  and  men  who 
might  otherwise  have  continued  to  live  unfruitful  lives,  some  have 
realized,  as  if  by  magic,  the  extent  of  their  artistic  powers,  solely  through 
the  awakening  influence  of  the  demand  for  an  expression  of  beauty. 
Would  it  not  be  regrettable  to  allow  so  great  an  architectural  achieve- 
ment to  melt  away  like  a  house  of  snow? 


ART  IDEALS  IN  CALIFORNIA  UNIVERSITIES 


By  ARTHUR  B.  CLARK 


HE  ART-MIND  of  a  people  consists  in  their  habitual  state  of  artistic 


emotion,  the  response  they  give  to  constant  environment.  Manu- 


factured  surroundings,  human  products,  are  an  expression  of  that 
state  of  mind.  The  total  amount  of  art  in  the  world  is  always  the  same, 
the  quality  varies  from  good  to  bad.  We  always  dress  in  taste,  either 
good  taste  or  poor  taste.  We  eat,  talk,  act,  and  build  in  the  same  way, 
expressing  an  harmonious  spiritual  or  artistic  condition,  or  one  which 
is  disorganized,  ugly,  and  careless.  As  every  atom  of  the  universe  is 
constantly  acted  upon  by  the  constant  and  inexorable  force  of  gravita- 
tion, so  is  every  article  of  human  production  a  reaction  upon  human 
spirit,  affecting  it  favorably  in  good  art,  or  unfavorably  in  bad  art. 
The  proverb  of  the  art  world  might  be,  "As  a  man  materializes  so  is  he." 
One's  dress,  furniture,  pictures,  office,  and  house  express  his  person- 
ality, himself.  They  do  this  either  negatively  by  what  they  are  not  or 
positively  by  what  they  are. 

Unsightly  factories  or  bill-boards  or  waste  city  lots  piled  with  rubbish 
betoken  unlovely  artistic  states  of  civic  mind;  while  care  and  pride  taken 
in  these  matters,  as  well  as  in  nobly  conceived  public  parks  and  build- 
ings, betoken  a  city  of  spiritual  richness. 

And  yet  art  wealth  consists  not  in  the  isolated  masterpieces  which  a 
city  or  state  may  possess,  either  of  painting,  sculpture  or  of  architecture; 
for  these  may  be  foreign  to  its  spirit,  their  possession  an  accident  of 
chance,  or  a  circumstance  of  thrifty  avarice.  Properly  to  possess  a  work 
of  art,  a  people  must  feel  the  deep  emotion  which  it  embodies.  For 
example,  the  mere  possession  of  the  mural  paintings  by  Puvis  de  Cha- 
vannes  in  the  Boston  Public  Library  does  not  give  the  Bostonians  the 
art  wealth  of  Puvis  de  Chavannes.  Mentally  to  possess  those  master- 
pieces, the  Bostonians  must,  through  habitual  conditions  of  artistic 
perception,  through  experiences  of  contemplation  in  the  open  fields 
and  sky  and  on  the  street,  arrive  at  the  peaceful  calm  of  the  great 
master;  then  his  message  of  infinite  tranquillity  can  be  received. 

Again,  if  a  great  artist  of  Gothic  times  should  waken  from  the  dead 
and  direct  the  building  of  a  great  Gothic  cathedral  in  San  Francisco, 
neither  San  Francisco  nor  any  other  American  city,  in  such  circum- 
stances, could  possess  the  art  of  that  cathedral  because  the  spiritual 
state  of  the  modern  mind  is  not  that  of  Gothic  times. 

These  illustrations  indicate  why  it  is  that  a  style  of  art  is  a  product 
of  national  growth  and  why  art  can  only  live  truly  in  being  an  expression 
of  an  habitual  state  of  mind,  and  also  why  art  must  be  an  integral 
part  of  education. 


ART    IN    CALIFORNIA  UNIVERSITIES 


95 


Thought,  or  soul,  grows  hy  expression.  If  there  is  no  expression  there 
is  no  soul.  Art  is  the  only  language  by  which  the  finest  conceptions  of 
perfection  and  the  noblest  passions  which  identify  human  beings  from 
other  animals  can  be  developed  and  put  forth.  No  amount  of  physical 
good  health  and  exercise,  nor  of  agreeable  clothing,  nor  of  appetizing 
food,  nor  the  satisfaction  which  results  from  successful  achievement  in 
commercial,  social,  or  political  enterprise,  fine  and  essential  though 
these  things  are,  can  take  the  place  of  the  particular  spiritual  growth 
which  comes  to  the  soul  through  the  realization  of  art. 

The  language  of  art  is  obscure  only  to  those  who  keep  aloof  from  its 
best  forms.  Michael  Angelo's  "Pieta"  and  Rodin's  "Saint  John  the  Bap- 
tist" are  as  clear  in  the  expression  of  human  passion  as  any  human 
expression  can  be.  It  is  only  to  the  boor  that  the  "ridiculous  is  dan- 
gerously near  to  the  sublime." 

It  is  the  task  of  art  education  in  the  public  schools,  from  the  kinder- 
garten to  the  university,  to  see  that  children  are  not  stupid  boors  in 
art,  who  see  only  the  weak  and  ridiculous,  but  rather  acquainted  with 
art's  language  and  responsive  spirits  appreciative  of  the  sublime.  And 
this  not  alone  in  isolated  places  like  art  museums,  but  in  the  faces,  the 
carriage,  and  the  clothing  of  the  people  whom  one  sees  daily,  and  in 
the  contour  of  hills,  buildings,  and  trees  which  are  silhouetted  in  one's 
daily  view  against  the  sky. 

The  character  of  a  city  can  grow  only  as  its  people  express  civic  pride 
through  civic  art. 

The  character  of  a  city  like  Paris  consists  in  the  expression  of  indi- 
viduality given  to  its  many  avenues,  squares,  and  public  buildings.  Its 
monuments  put  forth  by  sculpture,  in  proper  mood,  the  sentiment  and 
human  emotion  of  each  place.  Sometimes  the  emotion  is  of  past  tragedy, 
as  in  the  Place  de  la  Concorde;  again  of  proud  exaltation,  as  in  the 
Arc  du  Triomphe  de  L'Etoile,  or  of  geographic  wealth  of  the  earth,  as 
in  the  Trocadero.  A  walk  or  drive  in  Paris  can  never  be  monotonous 
because  each  place  has  its  character  made  manifest  in  the  language  of 
art.  Mere  signboards  might  indicate  the  bare  facts  of  history,  but  only 
art  can  record  its  significance  in  terms  of  human  emotion.  The  streets 
meander  and  join  at  many  angles,  fulfilling  human  needs,  hence  being 
human  streets.  Not  at  once  was  Paris  built,  but  through  centuries  of 
change  adding  and  supplanting  the  less  expressive  by  the  more  fit  and 
expressive,  a  process  which  still  goes  on,  for  the  city  is  not  yet  finished. 

The  universities  have  among  their  resources  in  art  instruction  repro- 
ductions of  the  European  masterpieces  of  art,  so  that  great  artists  of 
the  Renaissance,  who  were  but  names  (or  even  less)  to  most  Americans 
two  generations  ago,  are  now  known,  in  part  at  least,  to  every  school 
child.  Great  buildings  are  likewise  available  for  study.  This  study  of 
the  world's  masterpieces  can  not  fail  to  arouse  the  desire  for  emulation. 
But  more  than  this  is  essential  for  adequate  art  instruction.  One  learns 
to  do  by  doing.  Intimate  acquaintance  with  live  artists  who  are  meeting 
today's  requirements  in  art  is  essential  to  the  production  of  vital  passion 


06 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


for  the  development  of  national  art.  The  university  atmosphere  must  be 
so  charged  with  art  ideas,  past  and  present,  that  every  graduate  who 
goes  into  the  world,  whether  as  a  school  superintendent,  teacher,  city 
engineer,  alderman,  or  merely  as  a  householder,  will  be  a  force  in 
promoting  good  national  art. 

To  rebuild  our  cities  into  such  orderly  artistic  forces  as  the  recent 
Exposition  attained — that  is  a  worthy  task.  The  response  to  the  art  of 
the  Exposition  was  universal,  the  lives  of  all  who  saw  it  were  incal- 
culably enriched.  Such  art  influences  our  cities  may  continually  put 
forth  in  their  permanent  grounds  and  buildings,  not  only  through  har- 
monious lines  and  color,  but  through  the  highest  expression  of  human 
energy  and  passion  in  paintings  and  sculpture. 

The  universities  and  colleges  stand  for  symmetrical  development  of 
all  forces  essential  to  human  perfection.  Fortunately,  California's  insti- 
tutions provide  instruction  in  art,  if  not  as  generously  as  they  provide 
instruction  in  sciences  and  letters,  still  as  generously  as  art  instruction 
is  provided  in  similar  institutions  elsewhere.  Sad,  indeed,  is  a  one- 
sided culture,  either  in  science,  letters,  theology,  or  commerce;  all  are 
needed  and  with  them  the  recognition  of  live  energetic  art  as  a  funda- 
mental essential  of  civilization. 


AMERICAN  SCULPTORS  OTHER  THAN 
CALIFORNIAN 


Plate  No.  217 


THE  GENIUS  OF  CREATION  By  Daniel  Chester  French 


Plate  No.  218 


SIGNING  OF  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE  TREATY 


Plate  No.  219 


LECTERN  EOR  CLARK  MEMORIAL  CHAPEL 
PAMFRET  SCHOOL,  PAMFRET,  CONN. 


By  A.  A.  Weinman 


Plate  No.  220 


WOOD  NYMPH  By  Isidore  Konti 


Plate  No.  221 


Plate  No.  222 


♦ 


Plate  No.  223 


FLORA  AND  SOXXY-BOY  WHITNEY  By  James  Earl  Fraser 


Plate  No.  221 


Plate  No.  225 


PRIMA  MATER  By  Victor  S.  Holm 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  226 


Plate  No.  227 


THE  OUTCAST  By  Attii.io  Piccirilli 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  228 


Plate  No.  229 


L' AMOUR  By  Evelyn  Reatrice  Longman 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  230 


CENTAUR  AND  DRYAD  By  Paul  Manship 


Plate  No.  231 


THE  SOLDIER  OF  MARATHON  Bu  Paul  Xouquet 

Photograph  by  Francis  Bruguiere 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  232 


MUSE  FINDING  HEAD  OF  ORPHEUS  By  Edward  Berge 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  233 


THE  MOTHER  OF  THE  DEAD  „  „ 

By  C.  S.  Pietro 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  234 


FRAGMENT  OF  THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  TIME  By  Lorado  Taft 


Plate  No.  235 


THE  SCALP  By  Edward  Berge 

Photograph  by  Francis  Bruguiere 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  236 


DUCK  BABY  By  Edith  Barhetto  Parsons 

Photographed  by  Willard  E.  Worden 
Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinel]  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  241 


YOUNG  PAN  By  Janet  Scudder 

Photographed  by  Willard  E.  Worden 
Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  242 


BOY  WITH  FISH 


By  Bela  L.  Pratt 


Photographed  by  Willard  E.  Worden 
Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  243 


YOUNG  DIANA  By  Janet  Scuddeb 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  244 


Plate  No.  245 


Plate  No.  246 


BOY  AND  FHOi; 


By  Edward  Berge 
Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  247 


THE  GIRL  WITH  THE  DOLPHIN  By  Harriet  W.  Frishmith 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  248 


THE  SAN  FRANCISCO  ART  ASSOCIATION 


By  JOHN  I.  WALTER 

THE  SAN  FRANCISCO  ART  ASSOCIATION,  which  conducts  the 
San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art,  and  its  School  of  Design,  was  organ- 
ized on  March  28,  1871,  for  the  promotion  and  encouragement  of 
art  in  the  community. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact — one  in  which  San  Francisco  may  take  just 
pride — that  this  city  thus  organized  its  art  work  as  early  as  did  New  York 
or  Roston — a  striking  testimony  to  the  artistic  energy  of  California.  For 
the  last  forty-one  years  the  Association  has  pursued  its  ends  unceasingly, 
holding  exhibitions  and  lectures,  maintaining  a  large  and  important 
school,  and  interesting  itself  in  every  art  movement  in  the  city  and  state. 

After  occupying  the  Museum  Room  of  the  Mercantile  Library  for  the 
first  year  of  its  existence,  the  Association  rented  apartments  at  313  Pine 
Street,  where  it  remained  until  1876,  and  then  moved  to  430  Pine  Street. 
On  March  4,  1893,  it  entered  into  possession  of  what  was  thereafter 
known  as  the  Mark  Hopkins  Institute  of  Art. 

This  important  change  in  its  housing  was  brought  about  through  the 
munificence  of  Mr.  Edward  F.  Searles  of  Methuen,  Massachusetts,  the 
owner  of  the  property  referred  to,  and  who  deeded  the  buildings  and 
grounds  to  the  regents  of  the  State  University  in  trust  for  the  uses  of 
the  Art  Association,  under  its  commemorative  title. 

Superbly  and  most  picturesquely  located,  this  magnificent  edifice  was 
originally  designed  for  a  residence  by  the  pioneer  citizen  whose  name 
it  bore.  Well  adapted  primarily  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  used, 
the  place  through  the  further  generosity  of  Mr.  Searles  underwent  many 
changes,  increasing  its  advantages  as  an  art  institute.  Most  notable  of 
these  was  the  transformation  of  one  of  the  buildings  into  a  home  for 
the  School,  and  the  addition  to  the  house  proper  of  a  spacious  hall  for 
the  exhibition  of  pictures,  known  as  the  Mary  Frances  Searles  Gallery. 

The  School  of  Design  was  founded  by  the  Association  February  8, 
1874.  It  was  equipped  at  the  outset  with  a  most  admirable  collection  of 
casts,  presented  by  the  French  government  in  recognition  of  San  Fran- 
cisco's contribution  to  the  fund  for  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  of 
the  Franco-Prussian  war.  To  these  were  added  by  gift  and  purchase 
many  other  casts,  together  with  all  the  paraphernalia  necessary  for  a 
school  of  art.  From  the  beginning  the  School  won  for  itself  an  excellent 
name,  being  at  one  time  publicly  commended  by  Renjamin  Constant 
before  his  class  in  Paris.  When  the  School  was  established  in  the  Mark 
Hopkins  Institute  with  an  able  corps  of  instructors,  the  spacious  build- 
ings, beautiful  grounds,  and  adjacent  art  museum  with  its  library  and 


98 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


galleries,  served  to  increase  the  attendance,  and  added  to  its  field  of 
usefulness  during  the  next  thirteen  years. 

Then  came  the  great  catastrophe  of  1906,  when  fire  following  upon  an 
earthquake  devastated  the  city  and  laid  the  greater  part  of  it  in  ashes. 
The  Art  Institute,  museum,  and  school  buildings  were  destroyed, 
together  with  nearly  all  their  contents;  pictures,  statuary,  library,  school 
equipment,  the  accumulations  of  nearly  thirty-five  years,  were  almost 
entirely  swept  out  of  existence.  Owing  to  the  isolated  position  of  the 
Institute,  and  the  precautions  taken  against  any  ordinary  fire,  very  little 
insurance  was  carried,  so  that  the  monetary  loss,  as  well  as  loss  in 
objects  of  art  which  can  never  be  replaced,  was  appalling. 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  lack  of  means  and  the  broken  and  disordered 
condition  of  the  city  following  the  catastrophe,  the  Association  suc- 
ceeded in  erecting  a  building  on  the  foundations  of  the  former  Institute 
and  reopening  the  School  with  all  its  departments  within  little  more 
than  a  year  after  its  destruction.  Such  pictures  and  statuary  as  were 
saved  were  installed  in  suitable  rooms  and  a  new  library  begun.  In  view 
of  the  fact  that  the  memorial  buildings  of  the  Mark  Hopkins  Institute 
were  obliterated  it  was  decided  to  call  the  Institute  thereafter  the  San 
Francisco  Institute  of  Art. 

Notwithstanding  that  for  many  months  the  new  Institute  stood  almost 
alone  in  a  wilderness  of  ruins  and  was  difficult  of  access,  the  attendance 
at  the  School  steadily  increased  until  today,  when  the  city  has  once 
more  resumed  its  prosperous  condition,  the  School  is  reestablished  on 
its  former  well  known  efficient  basis,  and  with  the  largest  enrollment  in 
its  history.  Although  the  building  is  temporary  in  character  it  is  well 
constructed  and  with  a  special  regard  to  the  needs  of  the  School  and  is 
exceedingly  well  adapted  to  its  purposes.  The  rooms  are  large,  well 
lighted,  ventilated  and  heated,  and  the  equipment  of  all  the  classes  is 
very  complete. 

The  following  is  a  partial  list  of  painters,  sculptors,  illustrators  and 
teachers  who  have  been  students  in  the  School,  comprising  names  many 
of  them  well  known  in  America,  and  some  of  them  in  Europe  as  well: 
Albertine  Randall  Wheelan,  Illustrator  and  Designer;  Theodore  Wores, 
Painter  and  Instructor;  Robert  I.  Aitken,  Sculptor;  Ernest  C.  Peixotto, 
Painter,  Author  and  Illustrator;  Harry  M.  Seawell,  Painter  and  Instruc- 
tor; Charles  J.  Dickman,  Painter;  James  Swinnerton,  Cartoonist;  Guy 
Rose,  Painter;  Edward  Cucueil,  Painter  and  Illustrator  (Germany) ; 
Alice  R.  Chittenden,  Painter  and  Instructor;  Lucia  K.  Mathews,  Painter 
and  Instructor;  Matilda  Lotz,  Painter;  Amedee  Joullin,  Painter;  M.  Earl 
Cummings,  Sculptor  and  Instructor;  Charles  Rollo  Peters,  Painter; 
Alexander  Harrison,  Painter  (Paris) ;  Carlos  J.  Hittell,  Painter  and 
Designer  for  Scientific  Work;  Maurice  Del  Mue,  Painter  and  Newspaper 
Illustrator;  E.  Almond  Withrow,  Painter;  Maren  M.  Froelich,  Painter 
and  Instructor;  John  Guston  Rorglum,  Sculptor;  Harold  Sickal,  Illus- 
trator and  Designer;  Rertha  Roye,  Sculptor;  Homer  Davenport,  Car- 
toonist; Isabel  Percy,  Instructor;  Joseph  Greenbaum,  Painter;  Gertrude 


THE    SAN    FRANCISCO    ART  ASSOCIATION 


99 


Morin  Withers,  Illustrator  and  Instructor;  John  M.  Gamble,  Painter; 
Henry  Raleigh,  Illustrator  for  Magazines  and  Periodicals;  G.  F.  P.  Piaz- 
zoni,  Painter  and  Instructor;  Chris  Jorgensen,  Painter;  C.  Chapel  Jud- 
son,  Painter  and  Instructor;  Granville  Redmond,  Painter;  G.  Cadenasso, 
Painter  and  Instructor;  George  Dannenberg,  Painter  and  Illustrator; 
Florence  Manor,  Sculptor;  Theodore  J.  Keene,  Dean  Chicago  Art  Insti- 
tute; Lorenzo  P.  Latimer,  Painter  and  Instructor;  Evelyn  M.  McCormick, 
Painter;  Pedro  J.  Lemos,  Illustrator  and  Instructor;  Maynard  Dixon, 
Painter  and  Illustrator;  Xavier  Martinez,  Painter  and  Instructor;  M.  De 
Neale  Morgan,  Painter;  Mabel  Shively,  Instructor;  Rertha  Stringer  Lee, 
Painter;  John  T.  Lemos,  Designer  and  Instructor;  Mary  T.  Men  ton, 
Painter;  Percy  T.  Ivory,  Illustrator;  Florence  Lundborg,  Painter;  John 
A.  Stanton,  Painter  and  Instructor;  Percy  Grey,  Painter  and  Instructor; 
Ralph  Stackpole,  Sculptor;  Perham  Nahl,  Painter  and  Instructor;  Edgar 
Walter,  Sculptor;  Cyrus  Cuneo,  Illustrator;  Joseph  Raphael,  Painter; 
Eric  Pape,  Painter,  Illustrator  and  Instructor;  Rlanche  Letcher,  Painter 
and  Illustrator;  Sarah  Render  de  Wolff,  Painter;  Clara  McChesney, 
Painter;  Adrian  Maschfer,  Illustrator;  Adolph  Triedler,  Illustrator; 
Henry  Raschen,  Painter;  Charles  Carlson,  Painter. 

Among  the  many  teachers  and  supervisors  of  art  whose  work  has  been 
identified  with  the  public  schools  of  California  and  other  states  are  the 
following:  Edith  M.  Rushnell,  Grace  Stewart,  Zinie  Kidder,  Cora  M. 
Roone,  Fanny  Edgerton,  Gladys  M.  Chase,  Calthea  Vivian,  Hilda  Cooke, 
Grace  Dawson,  Martha  Kuck,  Henrietta  White,  Ethel  H.  Martin,  Amy  R. 
Dewing,  Cornelia  Deneen,  Nellie  Rryant,  Dora  Jacobs,  Leone  Kays, 
Victoria  Stewart,  Gertrude  Ryron,  Violet  Rrown,  Fannie  McGlashan 
Williams,  Juanita  Nicholson,  Florence  M.  Nutting,  Elizabeth  Ferrea, 
Rosa  Murdoch,  A.  Altmann,  Loretta  Rest,  Mrs.  Dal  Piaz,  Goldie  Powell, 
Marie  Reeves,  Marie  Gleeson,  Louise  Tessin,  Marietta  Diggs,  Clifford 
Neil,  Haidee  Tobriner,  Mrs.  W.  Y.  Phelps,  Lydia  F.  Fuller,  and  Hazel 
Watrous;  while  in  the  State  University  of  California  are  C.  Chapel 
Judson,  Harry  W.  Seawell,  M.  Earl  Cummings,  Perham  Nahl  and  H.  R. 
Monges. 

It  is  generally  conceded  by  art  educators  and  those  qualified  to  judge 
that  the  California  School  of  Design  conducted  by  the  San  Francisco 
Institute  of  Art  is  the  largest,  best  equipped,  and  the  superior  art  school 
of  the  West. 

Of  the  thousands  who  have  studied  in  the  School  of  Design  a  large 
proportion  have  achieved  success  in  the  profession  of  art,  some  having 
become  distinguished,  while  many  hundreds  have  become  self-support- 
ing in  various  art  industries. 

The  Art  Institute  has  a  superior  reputation,  not  only  throughout  the 
United  States  but  in  Europe  as  well. 

In  open  competition  entered  into  by  all  of  the  art  schools  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada  for  the  scholarships  awarded  by  the  Art  Students' 
League  of  New  York,  the  San  Francisco  Art  Institute  has  led  during  the 
past  three  years.  During  the  year  1913  five  awards  out  of  eleven  were 


100 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


won  by  students  of  the  San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art.  During  the  year 

1914  five  awards  out  of  seventeen  were  won,  more  than  was  granted  to 
any  other  one  school.  During  the  year  1915  the  greatest  number  of 
awards  was  again  received. 

The  School's  exhibition  in  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposi- 
tion was  awarded  a  gold  and  a  silver  medal  for  its  excellence. 

Several  scholarships  and  cash  prizes  are  awarded  to  students  at  the 
end  of  each  year  for  the  best  work,  enabling  ambitious  students  further 
opportunities  of  free  tuition. 

Every  effort  is  used  by  the  School  to  secure  employment  for  those 
students  who  are  prepared  and  desire  to  enter  the  art  industries. 

The  San  Francisco  Chronicle,  not  long  ago,  supplied  a  typical  instance 
of  the  esteem  in  which  the  School  of  Design  is  held  in  the  world  of  art, 
when  it  published  the  following  news  item: 

"  'Our  hats  are  off  to  them,'  said  Robert  Aitken,  instructor  in  sculpture 
in  the  Art  Students'  League  of  New  York.  Aitken  formerly  was  instruc- 
tor in  the  same  department  of  art  at  the  San  Francisco  institution  when 
it  was  known  as  'Mark  Hopkins.'  He  is  here  on  a  short  vacation. 

"  'Not  only  do  Western  students  win  the  larger  share  of  the  scholar- 
ships, but  immediately  on  entrance  for  their  year's  free  study,  almost 
invariably  they  take  No.  1  positions  in  their  classes.  Any  other  city  than 
San  Francisco  would  boast  inordinately  about  this,  but  you  seem  to 
take  it  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  indeed  it  happens  so  frequently  that 
the  New  York  faculty  of  the  Art  Students'  League  is  beginning  to  accept 
Western  superiority  as  a  matter  of  course,  too.'  " 

Realizing  that  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition  has  cre- 
ated the  most  profound  and  widespread  public  interest  in  art,  the 
directors  of  the  Association  knew  it  to  be  their  duty  to  so  strengthen  the 
membership  and  financial  resources  of  the  Association  as  to  bring  about 
the  establishment  of  a  permanent  and  thoroughly  equipped  museum 
and  school  of  art. 

That  which  had  sufficed  for  San  Francisco  up  to  the  magical  year  of 

1915  had  suddenly  become  altogether  inadequate.  The  Exposition  had 
literally  created  tens  of  thousands  of  lovers  and  students  of  art. 

Therefore,  the  Association  invited  the  cooperation  and  affiliation  of 
the  San  Francisco  Society  of  Artists,  an  organization  which  in  little 
more  than  a  year  had  built  up  a  membership  of  nearly  four  hundred, 
which  included  many  of  the  most  celebrated  artists  of  the  day  in 
America.  It  was  to  the  influence  and  energy  of  Arthur  F.  Mathews  and 
Francis  McComas  that  this  great  success  of  the  young  society  was  mainly 
due,  but  it  would  be  far  from  just  not  to  recognize  the  very  vital  part 
played  by  the  Sketch  Club,  an  organization  of  women  artists  which  had 
done  very  fruitful  work  indeed  in  San  Francisco,  and  which  formed  the 
nucleus  around  which  the  San  Francisco  Society  of  Artists  was  formed. 

The  San  Francisco  Society  of  Artists  responded  with  sincere  and  char- 
acteristic zeal.  Committees  representing  both  bodies  held  a  series  of 


THE    SAN    FRANCISCO    ART  ASSOCIATION 


101 


conferences  which  finally  and  most  happily  resulted  in  the  amalgama- 
tion of  the  two  organizations. 

At  the  same  time,  some  fifteen  to  twenty  of  the  most  representative 
of  the  women's  organizations  formed  an  executive  committee  pledged 
to  an  active  campaign  to  assist  the  San  Francisco  Art  Association  to 
enlarge  its  membership.  As  a  matter  of  historical  record,  and  one  which 
redounds  with  great  credit  to  the  women's  organizations  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, it  seems  proper  to  write  down  the  names  of  those  who  form  that 
committee.  They  are  as  follows:  Mrs.  Joseph  Fife,  Chairman;  Mrs. 
Edwin  Stadtmuller,  Chairman  of  Art  for  San  Francisco  District  of 
Federated  Clubs;  Mrs.  Alice  A.  Fredericks,  Mrs.  E.  D.  Knight,  Mrs.  Paul 
Goodloe,  Mrs.  C.  E.  Grunsky,  Mrs.  I.  Lowenberg,  Mrs.  Caroline  Rixford 
Johnson,  and  Miss  Anne  M.  Bremer. 

As  soon  as  the  general  public  understood  the  significance  of  the  new 
movement  they  set  the  seal  of  their  approval  and  support  upon  it,  so 
that  in  a  very  short  time  the  San  Francisco  Art  Association  had  gained 
more  than  a  thousand  members.  As  these  lines  are  being  written  only 
a  short  time  after  the  start  of  the  campaign,  it  seems  quite  safe  to 
prophesy  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  San  Francisco  Art 
Association  will  have  a  membership  of  at  least  three  thousand,  and  will 
possess  ample  funds  for  the  great  work  which  it  has  undertaken. 


THE  OAKLAND  PUBLIC  MUSEUM 


By  ROBERT  B.  HARSHE 

THE  EXPOSITION  is  over.  Compounded  of  illusion  and  reality,  of 
evanescence  and  immutability,  its  effect  will  nevertheless  be  more 
tangible  than  is  imagined.  Chiefly  this  effect  will  find,  as  it  always 
has  found,  its  most  concrete  expression  in  the  field  of  the  arts.  Just  as 
the  Centennial  meant  the  beginning  of  manual  training  and  of  impres- 
sionistic painting  in  the  United  States,  just  as  the  Columbian  Exposition 
connoted  better  architecture  and  a  stride  away  from  the  cast-iron  age 
of  sculpture,  just  as  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  gave  us  an  insight 
into  the  meaning  of  applied  arts,  so  will  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition 
leave  behind  it,  quite  aside  from  its  national  or  international  results,  a 
local  legacy  of  an  importance  not  yet  realized. 

That  the  San  Francisco  Bay  region  will  in  a  few  years  become  one 
of  the  art  centers  of  America  is  inevitable.  Already  on  every  hand  socie- 
ties are  springing  up  for  preservation  of  what  has  been  left  of  exposition 
architecture,  painting,  and  sculpture.  The  artists  of  San  Francisco  have 
buried  each  their  several  hatchets  to  work  in  unison  for  better  things 
and  movements  are  on  foot  not  only  to  conserve  the  best  fruits  of  the 
past,  but  to  plan  constructively  for  the  future. 

Not  least  among  the  results  of  the  Exposition  has  been  its  influence 
upon  the  Oakland  Public  Museum.  Devoting  itself  chiefly  to  natural 
history,  to  ethnology,  and  to  Colonial  and  Pacific  Coast  history,  it  opened 
for  the  first  time  on  February  1,  1916,  its  art  galleries  to  the  public. 
Housed,  as  these  are,  in  the  new  Municipal  Auditorium,  they  overlook 
Lake  Merritt,  and  enjoy  the  advantage  of  a  site  which  is  perhaps  not 
surpassed  by  that  of  any  civic  building  in  America.  The  works  of  Cali- 
fornia artists  (this  article  is  written  early  in  the  year)  in  a  series  of 
monthly  one-man  shows  will  be  exhibited  free  to  the  public  and  in 
addition  there  will  be  an  annual  exhibition  of  national  importance. 
Just  how  important  will  depend  on  time,  tide,  and  subscriptions  from 
members  of  the  Alameda  County  Art  Association. 

The  attitude  of  most  museums  is  moribund  or,  at  least,  non- 
progressive. When  exhibits  have  been  installed,  when  shows  have  been 
hung,  the  work  of  the  director  is  thought  to  be  finished  and  the  lay 
public  is  left  to  find  out  as  best  it  may  what  it  is  all  about.  Labels  are 
sketchy,  information  scarce,  the  remarks  of  the  janitor  are  not  illu- 
minating, and  the  curator  is  occupied  in  producing  a  monograph  which 
when  finished  will  give  to  a  waiting  world  the  noteworthy  information 
that  the  antennae  of  the  Madagascar  lepidopterae  go  wiggle  waggle  while 
those  of  other  bugs  are  inclined  toward  the  Swedish  school  of  gym- 
nastics. 


104 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Our  City  of  Oakland  is  more  aggressive.  She  will,  with  educational 
moving  pictures,  with  docent  service,  with  stereopticon  lectures  bait  a 
trail  to  the  museum,  and  she  will,  with  her  public  school  extension  work, 
actually  carry  the  museum  into  the  schools. 

Just  at  present,  the  museum  is  suffering  from  an  embarrassment  of 
riches.  Foreign  and  state  commissioners  and  the  National  Government 
itself  have  been  so  generous  that  we  have  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of 
exhibits  and  exhibit  cases  and  no  adequate  space  in  which  to  display 
them.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  ere  long  there  may  arise  from  the  roster  of 
Oakland's  prominent  men  one  who  will  support  this  movement,  who  is 
broad  and  catholic  in  his  tastes,  inspired  by  a  desire  to  serve  his  fellow 
men  and  to  hand  down  to  posterity  a  name  worthy  to  rank  with  that 
of  Field  and  Albright,  with  that  of  Harris  or  Hackley. 


WILLIAM  KEITH  AND  HIS  TIMES 


By  MABEL  URMY  SEARES 

THE  PLACE  of  William  Keith  in  California's  art  is  distinct  and 
important,  for  the  record  of  his  artistic  development  is  the  story 
of  California's  entrance  into  the  history  of  art. 
When  in  the  days  of  forty-nine  the  Argonauts  came  swinging  down  the 
western  slope  of  the  Sierra,  what  esthetical  ideas  they  entertained  were 
centered  in  the  "East"  to  be  fulfilled  when  golden  piles  should  send  the 
wanderers  home  again.  Art  then  held  no  very  important  place  even  on 
the  Atlantic  border.  But  international  expositions,  in  England  in  1851, 
in  France  in  1856,  and  in  America  in  1876,  were  soon  to  awaken  the 
world  to  its  better  appreciation.  During  this  artistic  renaissance  San 
Francisco  gained,  in  three  decades,  full  five  hundred  times  its  early 
population.  Gold  easily  obtained  was  freely  spent.  Millionaires  were  in 
the  making  and  soon  began  to  lavish  wealth  on  sumptuous  homes  in 
California.  Only  the  best  was  then  considered  good  enough  for  those 
who  had  deliberately  left  the  civilization  of  the  East  or  the  genial,  ideal 
life  of  their  war-swept  Southern  homes  to  make  new  fortunes  while  they 
helped  to  found  an  empire  on  this  distant  El  Dorado's  shore. 

In  New  York,  American  art  was  soon  to  show  new  life  in  the  impulse 
given  it  by  that  group  of  younger  men  who  returned  from  their  studies 
in  Munich  and  Paris,  organized  the  Society  of  American  Artists,  and 
introduced  into  this  country  the  methods  of  French  studios  and  of  the 
Fontainebleau  painters.  Opulent  San  Francisco,  following  this  lead, 
sought  with  a  lavish  hand  her  art  in  European  stores  and  brought  it 
home  to  decorate  the  walls  of  Nob  Hill  palaces.  Here  in  the  closing 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century  its  remnants  and  the  very  palaces  them- 
selves fostered  and  furnished  inspiration  for  the  budding  local  art. 

Meanwhile  William  Keith  was  advancing  from  his  discarded  wood- 
cuts and  early  water-colors  to  become  the  foremost  landscape  painter  of 
the  Coast.  Studying  for  years  from  nature  under  beneficent  skies,  he 
solved  for  himself  the  current  problems  of  the  school  of  Barbizon  and 
gained  a  loyal  and  devoted  following. 

No  group  of  contemporary  painters  surrounds  him  to  hide  from  the 
mind  of  the  student  his  unique  office  of  relating  the  early  history  of 
California  art  to  that  definite  period  represented  in  France  by  the 
works  of  Daubigny  and  Corot.  When  Mr.  Keith  came  to  California  in 
1859  most  of  the  men  and  women  who  are  now  the  leaders  of  American 
art  in  the  East  as  well  as  in  the  West  were  in  their  earliest  childhood 
and  had  yet  to  enjoy  those  long  years  of  study  in  Paris,  which,  collec- 
tively, have  had  so  great  an  influence  in  this  country.  It  is  not  with  the 
work  of  these  painters  that  the  art  of  William  Keith  should  be  placed. 


106 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


But,  rather,  as  the  flowering  in  California  of  the  Hudson  River  impulse 
must  his  paintings  be  grouped  with  those  of  his  contemporaries,  who, 
breaking  away  from  the  academical  principles  so  long  encrusting  art, 
gave  to  the  world  the  ideas  of  individual  liberty  in  subject  and  treatment 
which  vitalized  Impressionism. 

On  his  first  visit  to  Mr.  Keith  in  1890,  when  the  Californian  had  devel- 
oped his  mastery  of  technique,  George  Inness,  the  elder,  spent  his  whole 
two  months'  vacation  discussing  art  with  his  sympathetic  host,  and  the 
latter  summed  up  his  estimate  of  one  phase  of  Mr.  Keith's  genius  in  the 
following  significant  words,  "Not  one  of  us  (including  the  great  French 
men  of  his  own  date)  can  carry  a  picture  so  far  by  the  first  intention, 
except,  perhaps,  Rousseau."  As  illustrative  of  the  harmony  in  spirit  in 
common  between  the  two  artists,  we  have  taken  the  liberty  of  quoting 
the  following  recent  comment  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Philpott,  published  in  the 
Boston  Globe: 

"William  Keith  was  famous  on  the  Pacific  Coast  as  the  'California 
Inness.' 

"Certainly  these  two  American  painters  were  very  much  alike  in  their 
attitude  toward  nature.  Both  were  of  the  poetic  temperament  and  were 
not  only  impressed  by  the  grandeur  of  nature  in  a  panoramic  way,  but 
were  also  sensitive  in  the  charm  of  the  glimpses  of  nature  where  merely 
a  pool  of  water,  a  clump  of  trees,  a  bit  of  silvery  sky,  and  the  quietness 
of  the  moment  impressed  them. 

"This  shows  a  wide  range  of  sympathy,  but  the  bigness  of  the  artist 
in  both  cases  lay  in  the  fact  that  they  could  compress  any  scene  into  a 
picture  in  which  two  simple  facts  stand  out  prominently — a  broad 
shadow  and  a  broad  light.  In  the  soft  veil  of  shadow  were  all  the  color 
and  detail  necessary  and  in  the  light  there  always  seemed  to  be  the  full 
luminosity  of  color.  It  is  complexity  reduced  to  simplicity  and  it  shows 
always  the  great  artist." 

And  the  spirit  and  mastery  of  the  "California  Inness"  find  expression 
in  all  its  poetry  and  charm  in  the  three  canvases  here  reproduced. 

"Revelation"  is  a  rare  example  of  lights  and  shadows.  The  sky  is 
typical  of  Keith's  best.  Shadowy  trees  are  reflected  in  a  stream  and 
alongside  there  leads  a  path  in  which  stands  a  figure  enraptured  before 
the  light  in  the  heavens.  This  work  symbolizes  the  spiritual  nature  of 
Keith.  "Symphony  of  Peace"  is  one  of  a  group  of  three,  two  of  which 
were  purchased  by  Jacob  Schiff  in  1907.  He  presented  one  to  the  Frank- 
furt Gallery  in  Germany.  "Symphony  of  Peace"  and  "Revelation"  are 
owned  by  Keith's  daughter,  Mrs.  E.  N.  Harmon,  who  has  reserved  for 
her  personal  collection  a  number  of  his  best  works,  many  of  which  were 
loaned  for  exhibition  at  the  Palace  of  Fine  Arts  of  the  Panama-Pacific 
International  Exposition.  "Spirit  of  Music"  is  one  of  the  artist's  notable 
"gong  series"  and  the  one  especially  requested  by  him  to  be  retained  for 
a  permanent  collection.  It  reveals  that  innate  love  of  the  mystic  with 
which  Keith's  wonderful  art  was  steeped.  This  picture  is  owned  by 
Mrs.  William  Keith. 


WILLIAM    KEITH    AND    HIS  TIMES 


107 


If  we  remember  that  in  1856,  when  young  Keith  was  engraving  wood 
blocks  in  New  York,  Rousseau  had  just  been  worthily  recognized  in 
Paris  at  the  Exposition  Universelle,  where  all  his  rejected  pictures  of  the 
previous  twenty  years  had  been  gathered  in  one  of  the  finest  of  the 
many  splendid  groups  there  hung,  we  shall  realize  the  point  to  which 
the  art  of  modern  painting  had  developed  when  William  Keith  began 
to  work.  It  was  ten  years  later  that  Manet  and  Monet,  Sisley  and 
Cezanne  formed  the  group  of  plein  air  painters  who  broke  away  even 
more  forcibly  from  the  academic  manner  than  did  Corot  and  his  friends. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Keith  had  settled  in  California  and  was  revelling  in 
her  out-of-doors,  trying  by  every  means  in  his  power  to  attain  to  self- 
expression  and  working  out  through  years  of  isolation  and  unending 
study  the  new  problems  of  light  and  air.  Whatever  of  help  Mr.  Keith 
had  from  older  painters  lay  rather  in  the  state  to  which  they  had  raised 
their  art  than  in  any  direct  instruction.  One  year  he  had  in  Duesseldorf. 
A  few  portraits,  with  the  blackness  of  bitumen  which  now  shows  in 
paintings  of  that  period,  may  be  credited  to  that  European  trip.  In  1893 
a  fleeting  glimpse  of  Paris  and  Madrid  showed  him  what  European 
painters  had  done  and  were  doing  and  gave  him  new  inspirations  for 
those  multiple  experiments  which  occupied  his  time. 

As  an  individual  painter  Mr.  Keith  charms  and  holds  us  by  the  spirit- 
uality and  fertile  imagination  shown  in  his  interpretations  of  California 
landscape  and  in  the  sure  mastery  with  which  he  records  on  canvas 
some  inner  vision  Nature  has  evoked.  But  the  just  historian  must  do 
more  than  merely  place  him  and  his  work  in  the  list  of  California's  art 
contributions  to  the  world.  In  its  efforts  toward  art  expression  the 
Pacific  Coast  is  found  to  be  singularly  fortunate  in  the  man  himself  and 
in  the  firm  position  which  his  art  achieved.  Born  in  Aberdeenshire, 
Scotland,  of  a  strong  line  in  which  the  name  of  Bruce  is  mingled  with 
that  of  Keith,  the  artist  had  in  his  nature  unbounded  energy  and  that 
tenacity  of  purpose  which  enabled  him  to  sacrifice  everything  else  to  his 
art.  In  the  hard  school  of  the  wood  engraver  he  was  drilled  in  a  draughts- 
manship without  which  the  painter  is  forever  handicapped.  Upon  this 
severe  training  he  built  up  his  art,  and  as  he  sat  in  his  studio  or  sketched 
in  the  open  country  of  Marin,  the  Sierra  forests,  or  among  his  beloved  live 
oaks,  what  of  artistic  loss  he  might  have  suffered  from  his  isolation  was 
in  a  way  made  up  to  him  by  many  near  and  notable  friends.  These 
bought  his  first  water  colors,  wisely  seeing  the  promise  which  needed 
but  a  helping  hand.  No  offer  of  aid  was  despised  and  the  little  oval 
paintings  set  in  the  early  ferry  boats  upon  San  Francisco  Bay  for  years 
attested  to  his  first  determination  to  paint  in  oils. 

On  the  side  of  science,  destined  to  play  so  large  a  part  in  the  painter's 
knowledge  of  nature,  Mr.  Keith  was  not  without  comrades  and  oppor- 
tunities. John  Muir,  the  mountain  lover,  accompanied  him  on  Sierra 
sketching  tours,  and  under  Berkeley's  academic  oak  he  talked  with  John 
and  Joseph  Le  Conte. 

At  this  time  of  earnest,  untiring  study  when  in  France  the  Japanese 


108 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


print  was  having  its  effect  on  the  simplification  of  color  and  tone  in  the 
painting  of  the  early  Impressionists,  and  when  in  England  Whistler 
expressed  in  current  art  the  same  Oriental  power  to  subordinate  detail, 
there  was  coming  constantly  to  the  California  coast  a  treasure  trove  of 
art  from  China  and  Japan.  We  can  not  as  yet  estimate  the  effect  which 
this  Oriental  heritage  in  art  ideals  may  have  upon  our  Western  ways 
of  work.  But  it  is  certain  that  it  gives  to  all  who  study  it  a  subtler  sense 
of  decoration  and  a  strong  desire  for  simplicity  of  scene.  To  William 
Keith  it  must  have  spoken  in  many  unrecorded  ways  and  there  are 
stories  of  his  sitting  in  the  twilight  listening  to  the  waves  of  sound  which 
circled  out  from  a  great  Chinese  gong  or  vase  and  in  his  fancy  seeing 
compositions  full  of  beauty  which  in  the  years  of  his  best  work  he 
embodied  in  the  notable  "gong  series"  now  in  the  gallery  of  Doctor 
Hugh  Tevis,  who  gave  him  the  melodious  piece  of  bronze.  Out  of  such 
informing  circumstances  and  surrounded  by  such  friends  Mr.  Keith 
evolved  his  vigorous  art  through  a  lifetime  of  enthusiastic  labor.  Study- 
ing always  some  new  method  of  using  pigment  and  brush  he  neverthe- 
less stopped  not  by  the  technical  wayside  but  pushed  on  through  the 
perfecting  of  that  representation  of  nature  by  which  the  spirit  speaks. 

Having  mastered  the  delineation  of  the  California  live  oak  so  that 
the  ramification  of  its  branches,  the  beauty  of  its  boll,  and  the  rich  colors 
of  its  foliage  were  his  to  conjure  with,  he  used  groups  of  these  gnome- 
haunted  trees  bathed  in  sunlight  or  deep  in  shadow  to  express  the 
emotions  of  his  sensitive  mind.  The  effect  of  reading  one  of  Poe's  weird 
stories,  the  tender  feeling  for  her  father  expressed  in  a  girl  friend's  book 
of  poems,  and  at  last  the  full  force  of  his  deeply  religious  nature  are 
found  enshrined  in  his  best  canvases. 

Most  potent  of  all  his  aids  in  this  endeavor  to  draw  upon  the  activities 
of  the  spirit  for  inspiration  was  the  friendship  of  his  boon  companion 
of  thirty  years,  Joseph  Worcester,  who,  as  builder  of  the  Swedenborgian 
church,  minister,  editor,  and  friend  of  art,  has  done  more  than  any 
other  one  man  to  place  the  foundations  of  art  in  San  Francisco  on  the 
rock  of  sincerity  in  its  broadest  and  deepest  sense. 

The  nineteenth  century  saw  many  well-trained  men  and  women  paint- 
ing in  San  Francisco.  Amateurs  and  artists  alike  frequently  went  back 
and  forth  between  Paris,  New  York,  and  San  Francisco.  In  the  well- 
established  Art  Institute  with  its  roster  of  names  now  eminent,  Arthur 
Mathews  was  teaching  and  developing  a  group  of  men  and  women  who 
form  our  distinctive  school  of  Western  art.  And  while  there  was  little 
interchange  of  painting  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts  there 
was  well-defined  knowledge  of  the  value  of  a  good  picture,  and  many 
excellent  collections  of  local  art  were  being  formed. 

Not  only  did  the  children  of  "the  splendid  idle  forties"  maintain  a 
high  standard  of  taste  but  by  their  patronage  they  enabled  so  discrim- 
inating a  connoisseur  and  friend  of  the  artist  as  William  Vickery  to 
set  the  best  of  Mr.  Keith's  increasingly  good  canvases  before  the  com- 


WILLIAM    KEITH    AND    HIS  TIMES 


109 


munity  and  to  help  establish  his  position  in  England  and  the  Atlantic 
states. 

If  the  story  of  Mr.  Keith's  early  struggles  is  the  history  of  art  in  pioneer 
California,  so  the  record  of  his  relation  to  the  great  fire  is  the  tale  of  San 
Francisco's  superb  meeting  of  that  terrible  ordeal  as  related  by  Mr. 
Keith's  constant  companion,  the  Reverend  Joseph  Worcester. 

While  on  his  rounds  among  his  parishioners,  the  pastor  stopped  at 
his  friend's  studio,  entered  with  his  own  key,  and  saw  the  pictures  as 
they  lay  tumbled  on  the  floor.  As  no  danger  from  the  fire  seemed  at 
that  time  to  threaten  that  part  of  the  city  he  locked  the  door  again,  pre- 
ferring to  leave  the  studio  as  it  was  for  Mr.  Keith  to  see.  On  the  second 
day,  from  the  window  of  his  hill  house,  Mr.  Worcester  saw  the  fire  sweep 
strongly  northward  and  with  another  friend  went  down  to  find  what 
had  been  done  to  save  the  paintings.  Again  he  found  them  undisturbed 
upon  the  floor.  Mr.  Keith  had  not  been  there.  Selecting  those  he  knew 
were  most  important  Mr.  Worcester  and  his  helpers  carried  twenty-six 
home  with  them.  Everything  else  in  the  studio,  though  later  hurried  to 
a  place  of  seeming  safety,  perished  in  the  fire.  In  the  words  of  E.  N. 
Harmon,  the  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Keith,  the  incalculable  loss  art  suffered 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  1000  of  Mr.  Keith's  finished  paintings 
and  1250  sketches  or  studies  were  destroyed.  Mr.  Keith  informed  Mr. 
Harmon  that  included  in  the  loss  were  forty  paintings  of  the  high 
Sierras  and  a  complete  set  of  all  the  Missions  of  California. 

Meanwhile  the  artist  had  come  on  that  fateful  day  in  April  from  his 
Berkeley  home,  had  met  at  the  foot  of  Market  Street  all  the  frightened 
fleers  from  the  threatened  city,  saw  that  the  flames  were  mounting  high 
between  him  and  his  studio,  and  turning,  went  back  to  his  home  across 
the  bay,  where,  with  a  borrowed  palette  and  a  make-shift  easel,  he 
painted  "California  in  Spring,"  now  treasured  in  the  home  of  one  to 
whom  he  gave  it  in  appreciation  of  her  care  for  Mr.  Worcester  during 
his  illness  following  the  fire. 

Many  times  in  preceding  years  had  Mr.  Keith  been  urged  to  abandon 
his  wooden  studio  in  the  old  Latin  Quarter  and  move  his  paintings  to 
a  fireproof  building.  But  always  he  answered :  "If  they  should  all  burn 
up  what  a  time  I  should  have  painting!  How  I  would  paint!"  So  now, 
striving  with  his  perfected  powers  to  make  a  complete  record  of  the 
glorious  visions  with  which  his  fertile  brain  was  crowded  he  forgot  the 
work  of  years  the  fire  had  taken  and  began  as  though  upon  a  new,  clean 
canvas  to  express  the  beauties  of  his  later  spiritual  discernment.  Up  to 
within  a  few  weeks  of  his  death  in  1911  he  worked,  saying  with  an  artist's 
regret  as  he  saw  his  strength  had  failed  him:  "Oh,  I  see  such  beautiful 
pictures.  I  wish  that  I  might  paint  them." 

When  through  the  Golden  Gate  great  ships  came  streaming  and  down 
the  steep  Sierra  cautious  trains  brought  their  world  treasures  to  the 
Fair,  towering  above  it  all  on  Russian  Hill's  tri-gabled  peak  the  little 
home  of  Joseph  Worcester  formed  a  shrine  for  those  who  wished  to  see 
the  best  of  San  Francisco's  early  art.  It  was  his  dearest  wish  to  gather 


110 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


in  some  permanent  place  the  work  which  William  Keith  had  counted 
best  among  his  paintings.  One  of  which  he  spoke  was  in  the  home  of 
Mrs.  Phoebe  Hearst  and  others  had  been  promised  from  the  Tevis 
gallery. 

And  the  heirs  of  William  Keith  have  retained  many  of  his  master- 
pieces, repeatedly  refusing  to  part  with  them,  prompted  by  the  sentiment 
that  these  shall  form  the  nucleus  of  a  memorial  to  him  in  San  Francisco, 
the  artist's  city  by  adoption. 

When  this  memorial  is  made  it  will  not  only  commemorate  William 
Keith  and  all  his  sympathetic  friends,  but  in  it  there  will  be  retained 
for  California's  posterity  that  finer  spirit  of  the  pioneers  which  domi- 
nates a  country  cognizant  of  the  best  the  present  holds  but  still  untram- 
melled by  the  past. 


CALIFORNIAN  ETCHERS 


CARMEL  MISSION  Lithograph  by  Louis  Chirstian  Mullgardt 

Courtesy  Hill  Tolerton 


Plate  No.  249 


FISHING  DAY  By  Pedro  J.  Lemos 


Plate  No.  250 


Plate  No.  251 


SEVEN  SOLITUDES 
Courtesy  Hill  Tolerton 


Lithograph  by  Worth  Rydeb 


Plate  No.  252 


Plate  No.  253 


TOWARD  THE  BAY  Bij  William  H.  Wilkb 


Plate  No.  254 


Plate  No.  2._).-) 


Plate  No.  260 


CALIFORNIA  AND  ITS  ETCHERS— WHAT 
THEY  MEAN  TO  EACH  OTHER 


By  PEDRO  J.  LEMOS 

ONCE  UPON  A  TIME  a  fraternal  organization  wishing  to  secure  a 
mural  painting  appropriated  a  few  score  dollars  and  appointed  a 
committee  to  see  that  the  mural  was  properly  secured — which  was 
all  good  and  legitimate,  excepting  that  this  committee  forthwith  set 
about  inquiring  from  various  artists  just  how  many  yards  of  mural 
they  would  be  willing  to  produce  for  so  many  dollars. 

The  Muse  of  Art  helps  the  community  where  the  patron  of  art  goes 
to  the  market  to  bargain  for  art  by  the  yard  or  paint  by  the  pound! 
When  appreciation  consists  of  open-mouthed  awe  because  a  canvas  is 
"as  big  as  the  side  of  a  house,"  or  because  it  took  the  artist's  eyesight  or 
ten  years  of  life  to  produce  the  creation,  then  must  genius  actually 
return  to  the  garret  as  well  as  into  the  scenario  plot  and  the  short  story. 

But  this  is  no  insinuation  that  the  Californian  is  bickering  over  art 
by  the  yard.  The  "wild  and  woolly  West"  is  coming  into  its  own  again. 
California  is  buying  etchings.  Buying  small  prints,  and  without  color. 
And  there  is  no  greater  indication  of  the  rise  of  art,  and  that  California 
will  become  the  art  center  of  the  West  than  this  fact. 

Etching  is  the  essence  of  art,  it  is  the  abbreviation  of  artistic  impres- 
sions; and  it  requires  a  mighty  good  knowledge  of  the  whole  thing 
properly  to  abbreviate  it.  Just  a  few  years  ago  it  was  impossible  to  find 
many  people  in  California  who  could  identify  an  etching.  In  fact,  many 
artists  thought  it  was  a  kind  of  pen  drawing.  A  few  minutes  previous 
to  a  lecture  given  on  etching  a  young  woman  said  to  me  that  she  was  so 
glad  to  attend  the  lecture  as  she  had  made  etchings  in  her  high  school 
days,  and  inwardly  I  admired  the  progressive  high  school  art  teacher, 
whoever  she  was.  My  admiration,  however,  was  shattered  when  my 
informer  confessed  later  that  what  she  thought  was  etching  was  simply 
copying  etchings  in  ink  and  washing  in  the  tones  with  other  shades,  and 
they  were  told  as  a  class  that  they  were  producing  etchings! 

This  only  illustrates  the  condition  which  the  Society  of  Etchers  in 
California  have  gradually  overcome,  and  which  the  splendid  display 
and  publicity  of  etchings  and  prints  at  the  Panama-Pacific  International 
Exposition  has  made  impossible  again  in  this  generation  for  California. 

Now  that  the  public  has  become  interested  and  cognizant  of  the 
beauties  of  etchings — "the  autographic  art" — through  the  fine  setting 
given  the  art  at  the  Exposition  for  so,  many  months,  it  really  behooves 
the  California  etcher  to  keep  the  fires  burning. 


114 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


It  is  easy  enough  for  the  artistic  public  to  fall  into  old  views  and  ways 
of  thinking  about  art  unless  there  are  constantly  refreshing  themes  and 
methods  of  art  technique,  compositions,  etc.,  being  presented.  The  etch- 
ings can  best  and  easiest  furnish  this  requirement.  Through  the  spon- 
taneity and  means  of  quick  expression  afforded  by  the  plate,  needle,  and 
acid,  the  etcher  can  record  bits  of  impressions  much  more  rapidly  than 
his  brother  of  the  palette  and  brush. 

Again  the  collector  of  art,  the  man  who  wishes  to  have  a  private  collec- 
tion of  art  by  California  artists,  possibly  can  not  always  buy  the  expen- 
sive canvases,  but  he  can  always  buy  original  prints.  The  purchaser  of 
limited  means  can  secure  a  personal,  individual  signed  print  from  the 
best  artists  of  California,  and  such  a  collection  is  a  stimulus  to  greater 
purchases,  until  such  a  nucleus  formed  from  the  "lyric  of  art,"  the 
"sonnet  of  art,"  will  be  a  guiding  compass  to  the  proper  appreciation  of 
the  other  arts.  It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  already  in  California,  clerks, 
teachers,  libraries  and  art  lovers,  have  commenced  such  collections. 
May  their  tribe,  like  Abou  Ben  Adham's  greatly  increase. 

It  depends  largely  upon  the  etchers  of  California  that  this  indication 
be  cultivated,  that  this  forerunner  of  art  appreciation  be  coaxed.  It 
means  much  to  California  that  California  has  its  own  Society  of  Etchers 
to  serve  up  to  its  print  lovers  subjects  of  local  interest,  as  well  as  sub- 
jects done  abroad,  but  produced  by  Calif ornians  through  Western 
"mindsight." 

So  much  for  what  the  etcher  means  to  California.  Now  for  what 
California  means  to  the  etcher — which  is  a  great  deal  if  properly  taken 
advantage  of. 

California  to  a  large  extent  is  geographically  isolated  from  the  usual 
art  centers.  The  California  etcher  who  has  studied  abroad  or  in  Eastern 
cities  has  almost  come  to  believe  that  only  street  scenes,  cathedrals, 
bridges,  and  more  bridges  are  etchible  subjects.  Arriving  in  California, 
he  possibly  finds  very  little  similar  material.  Excepting  our  old  missions, 
our  buildings  do  not  have  the  artistic  oldness  that  is  so  inspiring  to  the 
etcher,  and  in  looking  around  for  such  material,  if  there  is  any,  it  is  over- 
shadowed by  nature's  edifices.  Thus  the  Californian  finds  in  time  that 
he  is  etching  the  old,  gnarled,  twisted,  seaside  cypresses,  or  the  mighty 
sequoias,  the  Corot-poised  eucalyptus,  or  the  hundred-and-one  other 
typical  California  subjects. 

After  all,  California  is  persistently  coaxing  the  etcher  to  new  paths, 
newer  scenes,  away  from  the  acres  and  acres  of  monotonous  buildings 
and  stereotyped  subjects. 

Again,  the  California  etcher  has  been  obliged,  through  his  isolation, 
to  experiment  for  results,  and  many  delightful  effects,  individual  in 
treatment,  have  been  produced.  Either  the  subject  or  the  etchers' 
aroused  interest  in  other  print  mediums  has  led  etchers  to  cut  subjects 
in  wood,  to  draw  them  on  stone,  to  make  monotypes.  Thus  all  print 
methods  are  at  the  present  time  being  successfully  used  as  mediums  of 
expression  by  California  artists. 


CALIFORNIA    AND    ITS  ETCHERS 


115 


A  prophet  is  seldom  received  in  his  own  country  and  the  native  always 
thinks  that  somewhere  else  is  the  "beautiful  beyond."  Eastern  artists 
coming  to  California  drop  off  at  the  first  stopping  point  and  seldom  go 
any  further  for  subjects.  A  prominent  Eastern  etcher  a  short  while  ago 
stated  that  he  had  come  to  California  to  ramble  around  the  state  and 
etch,  but  said  that  he  found  all  he  wanted  for  his  six  weeks'  stay  "right 
on  Telegraph  Hill."  So  California,  with  its  six  hundred  miles  length 
of  changing  scenery,  from  the  land  of  the  palm  to  the  snow-clad  moun- 
tains, furnishes  a  vast  kaleidoscope  to  the  California  etcher.  He  finds 
that  all  he  needs  is  but  to  choose;  for  California  landscape  violates 
Whistler's  rule  that  "Nature  seldom  composes." 

I  have  heard  it  remarked  that  people  expect  something  different  from 
California.  California  etchers  can  furnish  it  in  etchings.  They  have  the 
environment,  the  climatic  conditions  conducive  to  artistic  pursuits. 
"Why,  man,"  as  a  New  Yorker  stated,  "A  Californian  goes  out  and 
picks  armfuls  of  poppies  just  because  they  grow  in  California." 

Etching  has  just  commenced  in  California.  Art  is  budding  to  a  new 
spring.  California  means  much  to  the  etcher,  because  it  offers  every 
inducement  for  etching.  California  has  given  its  quota  in  drama  and 
letters.  Music  and  art  will  follow,  and  who  can  deny  that  etching  will 
be  one  of  the  methods  of  creating  for  California  a  distinctive,  interest- 
ing position  in  the  art  world? 


THE  CALIFORNIA  SOCIETY  OF  ETCHERS 


By  ROBERT  B.  HARSHE 

FOUR  YEARS  AGO  the  California  Society  of  Etchers  was  formed, 
modestly  as  befits  the  inception  of  institutions  which  are  to  live  and 
endure;  enthusiastically,  to  be  in  keeping  with  this  particular 
society;  indeed,  almost  casually,  which  was  entirely  in  harmony  with 
the  group  of  institution  builders  present.  There  was  Lemos,  now  Director 
of  the  San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art;  Piazzoni,  the  painter  of  subtle 
tonal  landscapes,  and  Stackpole,  whose  direct  modelling  and  fuzzy  hair 
are  the  envy  of  his  brother  sculptors.  There  was  present  also  a  college 
professor  whose  functions  and  claim  to  fame  were  negligible.  He  paid 
for  the  dinner,  however,  and  in  ribald  moment  they  elected  him  presi- 
dent. Afterward  they  apportioned  the  remaining  offices,  always  among 
those  present,  in  exactly  the  same  manner  that  the  wedges  of  pie  were 
cut  and  passed  around,  so  that  coffee  and  cigars  found  the  new  society 
off  the  ways  and  fairly  launched.  I  do  not  remember  that  it  ever  had 
a  set  of  by-laws  containing  what  was  mete  and  proper  for  the  various 
officers  to  do,  and  when  to  bring  in  unfinished  business,  and  when  to 
address  the  chair,  and  all  the  fuss  and  parliamentary  feathers  that  go 
with  seconding  motions  and  the  use  of  the  orotund;  but  perhaps  we 
did  have  one.  I  believe  it  is  customary.  At  any  rate,  other  societies  have 
them- — most  formidable  affairs  whose  tangled  and  legal  phraseology 
bewilders  and  renders  dumb  those  children  of  nature  who  think  in  terms 
of  clay  or  pigment. 

Our  first  exhibition  was  held  at  Vickery's,  and  it  was  a  good  one — 
most  educational  to  the  public,  who  learned  to  distinguish  a  drawing  in 
pen  and  ink  from  an  etching,  but  who,  since  Whistler,  Meryon  &  Com- 
pany were  not  members  of  our  society,  refrained  in  large  numbers  from 
purchasing  prints.  The  following  year  we  blossomed  out  with  an 
illustrated  catalogue  with,  we  blush  to  say,  advertisements  in  the  back 
which — we  do  not  blush  to  say — covered  the  expenses  of  the  entire  show. 
Then  there  was  a  poster  by  Worth  Ryder,  hand  carved,  so  to  speak — 
a  jack-knife  poster  that  was  to  give  the  final  touch  of  distinction.  Unfor- 
tunately, however,  the  janitor  or  the  committee  (we  were  always  a  little 
vague  about  committees)  overslept  or  went  out  of  town  or  something, 
and  most  of  the  posters  were  not  placed  until  the  exhibition  had  closed. 

The  next  year  saw  the  inception  of  the  travelling  exhibit  idea.  We 
sent  shows  to  Los  Angeles,  to  Sacramento,  where  the  State  Library 
bought  a  representative  group  of  prints,  and  on  a  tour  of  twelve  cities  in 
the  Northwest.  In  the  galleries  of  the  Sketch  Club  we  showed  how  etch- 
ings were  printed  with  actual  demonstrations  on  the  etching  press, 


THE    CALIFORNIA    SOCIETY    OF  ETCHERS 


117 


Piazzoni,  Lemos,  and  Randolph  acting  as  demons.  I  might  have  said 
"printer's  devils,"  but  the  connotation  is  not  so  definite  and,  in  addition, 
it  is  inadequate.  It  was  an  inky  and  a  lurid  scene,  and  its  educational 
effect  was  enormous.  It  was  unanimously  agreed  by  the  throngs  of  club 
women  who  gathered  about  the  arena  that  an  art  which  required  such 
self-sacrifice,  such  immolation  into  unbelievable  regions  of  dirt  and  ink 
and  grime  was  indeed  worth  while.  Solemnly  and  with  conviction,  I 
declare  that  this  was  the  real  beginning  of  interest  in  prints  on  the 
Pacific  Coast.  When  that  most  fastidious  animal,  the  artist,  can  not  be 
distinguished  from  a  coal-heaver  and  is  willing  to  appear  in  public  with 
nothing  but  his  accent  and  that  subtle  something  which  is  thought  to 
hover,  halo-like,  about  his  kind,  to  differentiate  him  from  the  non- 
creative  group,  it  gives  the  layman  pause.  "There  is  something  in  this, 
mates,  something  inexplicable,  something  worth  looking  into,"  he  says, 
and  from  that  time  forth,  though  he  does  not  know  it,  he  is  ours.  He  has 
been  bitten  by  the  etching  bug  and  the  acid,  not  iron,  of  that  unclassified 
bacillus  has  entered  into  his  mind.  If  he  proves  worthy,  if,  like  Sterne's 
atom,  our  bacillus  has  found  a  comfortable  abiding  place  and  nourish- 
ing pabulum,  the  layman  soon  becomes  print  collector  and,  in  time, 
full-fledged  connoisseur. 

How  different  is  the  progress  of  the  average  collector  of  pictures!  His 
purse  is  longer,  he  knows  what  he  likes,  and  what  he  likes  is  something 
that  takes  him  back  to  the  old  farm,  something  of  the  dark  brown 
school  with  a  rail  fence  or  a  melancholy  cow;  or  perchance  a  little  old 
red  school  house  in  the  middle  distance.  And  after  dinner,  in  a  somewhat 
mellow  mood,  he  is  fond  of  standing  before  it  and  of  flattering  his 
amour  propre  by  thinking  on  the  heights  to  which  he  has  risen.  Other 
pictures  follow;  and  dependent  on  soil,  atmosphere,  and  candid  friends, 
our  stock-broking  hero  may  in  time  learn  something  about  paintings. 
His  progress  has  been  from  the  outside  in.  He  learns  from  his  mistakes 
and  after,  long  after,  his  purchases  have  been  made.  Prints,  on  the  other 
hand,  make  no  appeal  to  the  general,  and  they  lack  for  the  most  part 
the  lure  of  color.  So  that  your  print  collector  is,  in  fact,  a  print  col- 
lector before  he  buys  a  print.  He  must  needs  possess  a  certain  discrim- 
ination, a  certain  innate  taste  or  the  "art  of  suggestion"  would,  in  the 
first  place,  have  made  no  appeal  to  him.  In  this  fair  land  of  ours  there 
are  many  collectors  of  pictures,  who  buy  as  they  buy  fat  cattle  or  gilt 
furniture  or  dummy  sets  of  books,  and  whose  homes  are  a  Walpurgis 
riot  of  Louis  Quinze  and  rococo.  But  I  know  of  no  print  collector,  how- 
ever humble  his  circumstances,  who  is  not  also  a  man  of  culture  and 
whose  self-constructed  environment  does  not  also  breathe  refinement. 

With  the  election  of  Louis  Mullgardt  to  the  presidency  of  the  Cali- 
fornia Society  of  Etchers,  the  organization  advanced  as  did  the  Society 
of  British  Artists  under  Whistler's  presidency.  This  distinguished  archi- 
tect, who  is  a  no  less  distinguished  lithographer,  happily  possesses  great 
executive  ability.  It  was  during  his  tenure  of  office  that  our  bi-monthly 
dinners  were  inaugurated.  It  seems  incredible  that  some  of  us  are  still 


118 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


living  and  still  going  to  these  dinners.  Perhaps  it  is  Perham  NahPs 
oratory,  perhaps  it  is  the  California  climate  that  enables  us  to  go  blithely 
on  facing  various  gastronomic  horrors  and  surviving  them.  I  do  not 
know  why  we  go  to  these  places  where  no  one  knows  what  the  menu 
means — when  there  is  a  menu;  nor  why  we  attempt  bird's-nest  soup, 
and  ravioli,  and  squid  patties,  and  snail  on  the  half-shell,  and  rubbery 
abalone,  instead  of  real  food.  No  doubt  the  visiting  celebrity — and  we 
welcome  always  a  brother  burin-wielder — wonders  also. 

Among  the  great  men  of  our  craft  who  have  visited  San  Francisco 
during  the  Exposition  year  are  Alden  Weir,  president  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Design;  Frank  Duveneck,  the  friend  of  Whistler;  Arthur 
Covey,  president  of  the  New  York  Society  of  Etchers;  Thomas  Wood 
Stevens,  former  president  of  the  Chicago  Society,  and  Joseph  Pennell, 
president  of  the  Senefelder  Club  of  London.  It  was  under  our  auspices, 
indeed,  that  Mr.  Pennell  was  presented  with  a  bronze  plaque  by  Frank  L. 
Brown  of  the  Exposition  directorate.  Placing  the  index  finger  of  his 
right  hand  carefully  in  his  waistcoat  pocket  and  burying  his  chin  deep 
in  his  collar,  Mr.  Pennell  spoke  oracularly  of  his  connection  with  the 
Exposition  and  of  the  bird's-eye  and  other  views  which  he  had  made 
when  the  Exposition  area  was  a  swamp  and  the  Towel  of  "Jools"  a  hole 
in  the  ground.  It  seemed  quite  generally  understood  that  an  Exposition 
could  not  begin  without  bird's-eye  views,  and  the  great  American  etcher 
and  lithographer  admitted  that  he  had,  in  this  instance,  controlled  the 
visual  ornithology. 

When  in  1913  the  doors  of  the  Society  were  opened  to  non-Califor- 
nians,  a  decision  was  made  which  immediately  enlarged  our  horizon. 
The  response  on  the  part  of  those  American  etchers  who  were  invited 
to  membership  was  most  enthusiastic.  At  once  we  became  national,  our 
insularity  was  sloughed  off,  and  we,  who  had  expended  our  energies 
in  an  educational  campaign,  were,  in  turn,  influenced  by  contact  with 
the  work  of  the  greatest  American  technicians.  It  was  inevitable  that 
our  standards  of  accomplishment  should  have  been  raised;  that  we,  when 
our  work  was  placed  alongside  the  best  of  contemporary  prints,  should 
not  feel  the  impetus  of  emulation. 

Among  the  earlier  non-residents  who  were  quick  to  affiliate  with  us 
was  Helen  Hyde,  who  sent  us  from  Japan  rolled  about  bamboo  sticks 
the  most  charming  color  prints  of  Japanese  children,  of  Hiroshigi  land- 
scapes and  gracious  Utamaro  ladies.  But  Helen  Hyde  was  always 
closely  affiliated  with  California  art;  it  was  the  Coast  that  in  this  country 
first  appreciated  the  subtle  charm  of  the  Ukiyoye  school  so  that  we 
scarcely  counted  her  an  acquisition.  She  simply  was  not  a  charter  mem- 
ber and  an  officer  of  the  Society  because  she  did  not  happen  to  be  present 
at  that  first  dinner.  In  the  same  way  we  like  to  think  of  Fred  Yates, 
who  lives  in  England,  and  George  Plowman,  who  is  teaching  etching 
classes  in  Boston  and  New  York.  It  was  Plowman,  pupil  of  Sir  Frank 
Short  at  South  Kensington,  who  showed  us  first  the  mysteries  of  tonal 
printing,  who  knew  the  traditional  methods  of  "pulling  a  proof,"  and 


THE    CALIFORNIA    SOCIETY    OF  ETCHERS 


119 


who  understood  the  necromancy  of  a  "fat"  rag.  When  Armin  Hansen 
came  back  from  eight  years  in  Belgium,  he  brought  with  him  the 
methods  of  Baertzoen  and  Rassenfosse,  and  Worth  Ryder  acquired  and 
was  glad  to  transmit  to  us  the  best  that  Munich  could  offer  in  lithography. 
Lee  Randolph,  whose  prints  are  exhibited  in  the  Petit  Palais,  had  much 
to  say  of  the  French  printers  who  live  near  St.  Germain  du  Pre  and  of 
the  queer,  dark  shops  where  plates  are  hammered  and  re-ground.  Ran- 
dall Borough  worked  in  the  classes  of  Vojtek  Preissig,  the  Austrian 
master  of  acquatint,  and  he  passed  along  to  us  the  details  of  "dusting 
a  plate,"  of  the  "crackle-ground,"  and  of  the  perchloride  of  iron  bath. 
And,  as  I  have  said,  we  learned  from  our  own  exhibitions,  from  the 
prints  themselves.  Geo.  Senseney  sent  us  from  Paris  color  prints  which 
were  marvels  of  technical  achievement,  each  proof  necessitating  many 
consecutive  printings,  so  involved  that  we  do  not  yet  know  just  how 
they  were  made.  From  Paris,  also,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frank  Armington  sent 
us  etchings  of  French  architecture,  of  Alt  Nurnberg  and  of  Algerian 
streets.  Monotypes  of  rural  England  came  to  us  from  Edward  Ertz  in 
Sussex,  and  carefully  worked,  delicate  etchings  of  London  buildings 
from  Henry  Winslow.  Architectural  also  were  Celia  Steuver's  prints 
from  far-off  Prague  and  Roy  Partridge's  impressionistic  facades  of 
Notre  Dame.  This  brilliant  technician,  always  searching  new  methods 
of  expression,  fitting  new  technique  to  new  subjects,  is  at  once  among  the 
most  versatile  and  the  most  accomplished  of  our  members.  Carl  Oscar 
Borg  returned  from  Italy  with  a  group  of  soft-ground  etchings  which 
have  not  been  surpassed  by  the  best  of  the  Austrians  or  the  Germans, 
and  William  Wilke,  the  energetic  secretary  of  the  Society,  has  also 
chosen  this  medium  for  his  beautiful  drawings  of  California  trees. 

In  the  United  States,  since  the  time  of  Bass  Otis,  lithography  has  been 
so  hedged  about  by  trade  secrets  and  so  much  a  medium  for  the  crudest 
forms  of  commercial  posters  that  artists  have  been  slow  to  realize  its 
possibilities.  It  is  then  with  a  certain  sense  of  pride  that  we  have 
exhibited  the  work  of  Miss  Isabel  Percy,  who  is  one  of  the  half-dozen 
artists  in  this  country  who  have  done  notable  work  in  color  lithography. 
Our  New  York  members  include  E.  D.  Roth,  one  of  the  best  contemporary 
etchers;  William  Levy,  whose  consummate  skill  in  character  rendition 
gives  him  high  place,  and  A.  C.  Learned,  a  man  who  has  carried  dry 
point  figure  work  in  tonality  and  in  finish  as  far  as  it  can  well  go.  Sears 
Gallagher  is  our  Boston  representative;  Frederick  Harer,  with  his 
blotchy  technique  and  "foul  biting,"  sends  each  year  from  Philadelphia. 
In  the  Middle  West,  we  count  as  members  Ralph  Pearson,  vice  president 
of  the  Chicago  Society  of  Etchers,  Bertha  M.  Jacques,  its  devoted  secre- 
tary, and  Earl  H.  Reed,  its  former  president,  whose  book  on  etching  has 
just  been  published,  Thomas  Tallmadge  of  Evanston,  Gustav  Goetsch  of 
the  Minneapolis  Art  Institute,  and  Edward  Hurley  of  the  Cincinnati  Art 
Academy.  Further  west  still  Dean  Babcock  of  Estes  Park,  Colorado,  and 
George  Burr  of  Denver,  and  Carlos  Vierra  of  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  are 
identified  with  us. 


120 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Of  Californians  who  have  not  been  mentioned,  the  monotypes  of 
Perham  Nahl,  of  Gottardo  Piazzoni,  of  H.  C.  Hammerstrom,  and  of 
Clark  Hobart  call  for  especial  mention.  Nahl  is  occupied  chiefly  with 
California  redwoods  and  Monterey  cypresses.  Piazzoni's  work  is 
extremely  subtle,  reminding  us  of  a  lithotint  by  Whistler.  Hammerstrom 
goes  in  for  marines,  while  Hobart  succeeds  in  full  color  effects,  most 
daring  and  unusual  in  quality.  Frank  van  Sloun's  dry  points,  in  point 
of  view,  recall  John  Sloan's  etchings,  while  Miss  Gertrude  Partington 
has  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  Helleu.  Among  younger  members  of 
the  society  from  whom  we  expect  much  in  the  future  are  Nellie  Gere, 
Harry  Marvin  French,  the  book-plate  engraver;  Betty  de  Jong  and 
William  Rauschnabel,  who  cut  wood  blocks;  H.  C.  Brown,  the  color 
etcher,  and  Hannah  Thompson,  Chester  Bonestell,  Helen  Forbes,  and 
Mrs,  Louise  MacDougal,  who  content  themselves  with  pure  line. 

Among  our  membership  are  included  silversmiths,  painters,  school 
teachers,  sculptors,  sign-card  writers,  architects,  civil  engineers,  news- 
paper illustrators,  settlement  workers,  museum  curators,  and  at  least  one 
lighthouse  tender.  Few  of  us  gain  our  livelihood  primarily  from  the 
sale  of  our  prints.  Ordinarily  etching  and  its  sister  graphic  arts  do  not 
bring  in  returns  commensurate  with  the  time,  the  expenditure  of  effort 
and  labor  involved.  Indeed,  it  is  a  labor  of  love  for  the  most  part,  a 
most  democratic  art  which  enables  the  man  of  modest  means  to  possess 
works  that  are  in  quality,  if  not  in  size,  worthy  of  consideration  with 
the  best  that  has  been  done  in  painting  or  in  sculpture. 

What  I  would  like  to  emphasize  in  this  rambling  narrative  of  the 
California  Society  of  Etchers  is  the  spirit  of  mutual  helpfulness  which 
from  the  beginning  has  animated  us.  A  discovery,  a  new  way  of  doing 
things,  an  improved  form  of  procedure  which  is  worked  out  by  one 
of  our  members  becomes  at  once  common  property.  Those  tireless  exper- 
imenters, Pedro  Lemos  and  Benjamin  Brown  of  Pasadena,  in  particular, 
are  constantly  working  out  original  methods  and  devices  to  be  presently 
transmitted  "en  bloc"  for  the  good  of  the  order.  None  of  the  squabbles 
which  mar  the  harmony  of  many  of  our  art  organizations,  turning  them 
into  political  clubs,  have  vexed  our  serenity.  On  the  other  hand,  Bill's 
work  has  never  been  exhibited  because  "Bill  is  kind  to  his  mother." 
Undoubtedly  this  is  the  secret  of  the  success  of  our  society,  the  absence 
of  jealousy,  the  interchange  of  ideas  and  information,  and  the  very 
real  admiration  and  affection  which  exists  among  our  membership. 


ETCHING  AND  ETCHERS 


By  HILL  TOLERTON 


NDOUBTEDLY  there  is  a  very  strong  and  quite  general  propensity 


in  human  nature  to  be  perpetually  acquiring  and  collecting.  This 


inclination  is  frequently  found  to  be  in  active  operation  with  no 
other  object  than  the  temporary  pleasure  derived  from  its  indulgence. 
When  the  gratification  ceases  at  this  point  and  has  no  other  object  than 
the  vanity  of  possessing  that  which  another  has  not,  the  pursuit  degener- 
ates into  an  irrational  craving,  and  is  not  much  better  than  the  yearning 
of  a  child  for  a  new  toy.  But,  when  a  higher  and  more  worthy  purpose 
is  held  in  view,  namely,  when  the  collection  is  made  with  reference  to  a 
permanent  pleasure,  which  is  afterwards  to  be  enjoyed  on  account  of  the 
intrinsic  beauty  or  value  of  the  objects  collected,  then  the  collecting  of 
works  of  art,  whether  of  painting,  sculpture,  etchings,  or  books,  becomes 
not  only  a  pleasurable  but  a  rational  pursuit.  Unquestionably  there  is  no 
form  of  art  which  so  well  repays  the  time  of  the  collector  as  a  well-con- 
sidered and  carefully  selected  collection  of  etchings — I  mean  etchings 
which  possess  real  value. 

An  etching  is  not  a  cold,  matter-of-fact,  photographic  reproduction  of 
a  given  scene,  but  is,  or  rather  should  be,  when  properly  executed,  a  very 
personal  and  intimate  thing.  The  etching  process,  in  the  hands  of  an 
experienced  master,  is  capable  of  many  beautiful  and  subtle  effects  and 
as  a  means  of  artistic  expression  is  entirely  sufficient  for  the  rendering  of 
(almost)  any  of  the  ideas  an  artist  may  desire  to  convey. 

To  make  an  etching  is  not  easy,  and  the  technical  difficulties  attendant 
on  the  complete  mastery  of  the  process  are  such  that  many  years  of 
disappointments  and  strenuous  endeavors  are  necessary  before  the  artist 
may  feel  at  home  with  his  medium.  In  fact,  it  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
arts  to  master.  It  is  well  for  the  public  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  number 
of  proofs  which  can  be  printed  from  a  finely  etched  plate  is  always 
extremely  limited,  as  the  tremendous  pressure  to  which  the  copper  or 
zinc  plate  is  subjected  soon  wears  down  the  delicate  lines. 

One  of  the  peculiar  charms  of  a  properly  executed  etching  is  the  fact 
that  an  artist  is  enabled  in  this  manner  to  express  in  sure,  swift  lines  the 
fleeting  and  transitory  inspiration  of  the  moment,  and  to  give  an  inter- 
pretation of  a  given  scene  as  it  appears  to  him.  Consequently  you 
invariably  see  the  scene  through  the  artist's  eyes.  You  see  not  only  what 
he  sees  but  as  he  saw  it  when  the  mood  that  suggested  the  picture  was 
dominant. 

Time  was  when  the  acquisition  of  fine  proofs  from  the  plates  of  Rem- 
brandt, Piranesi,  Callot,  Goya,  Van  Dyck,  and  Meryon  was  a  compara- 


122 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


tively  simple  and  inexpensive  pastime,  but  now-a-days,  it  is  only  the 
collector  with  a  long  purse  who  can  indulge  himself  in  the  possession  of 
fine  proofs  from  the  old  masters,  not  to  mention  the  etchings  of  Whistler 
and  Seymour-Haden  which  have  risen  to  extravagant  prices.  Then, 
there  are  the  undeniably  beautiful  and  charming  old  line  engravings  by 
Nanteuil,  Masson,  and  Les  Drevets,  and  every  lover  of  prints  knows  that 
engravings  similar  to  these  will  never  again,  in  all  human  probability, 
be  made. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection,  that  fine  impressions  from  the 
mezzotint  plates  of  McArdell,  John  Raphael  Smith,  John  Jones,  and 
others  of  the  eighteenth  century  school,  now  bring  prices  equal  to,  if  not 
greater  than,  the  original  paintings  which  these  engravings  reproduce. 
Even  today  a  rare  and  beautiful  proof  by  Charles  Jacque,  Charles 
Daubigny,  Felix  Buhot,  and  others  of  the  French  school  may  occasionally 
be  picked  up  for  a  reasonable  sum,  but  this  is  mere  chance,  and  the 
modern  collector  is  perforce  compelled  to  look  to  other  fields  to  complete 
his  portfolios.  Certain  it  is  that  never  before  have  original  etchings  had 
such  a  tremendous  vogue,  and  never  before  have  the  etchings  of  certain 
contemporary  men  sold  for  such  extravagant  prices.  I  refer  to  the  etch- 
ings and  dry  points  of  D.  Y.  Cameron,  Anders  Zorn,  and  Muirhead  Bone, 
and  to  the  rarer  etchings  of  Auguste  Lepere,  which  bring  a  rather  pro- 
hibitive price.  Nor  can  we  deny  that  Frank  Brangwyn  is  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  original  contemporary  artists,  and  his  dramatic  etch- 
ings are  among  the  most  noteworthy  prints  produced  in  modern  times — 
in  fact  they  are  in  a  class  by  themselves.  While  in  their  technique 
defying  all  the  accepted  canons  of  the  art  of  etching  and  engraving,  yet 
their  very  robustness  compels  attention.  Their  deserved  popularity, 
however,  has  made  them  scarce  and  while  not  exactly  "dear,"  according 
to  some  standards,  they  are  not  the  most  reasonably-priced  prints  a 
collector  may  acquire.  However,  it  is  not  to  discourage  the  collector  of 
moderate  means  that  these  facts  are  given,  but  rather  to  emphasize  the 
very  remarkable  development  of  The  American  School  of  etchings. 

The  New  York  Etching  Club  was  organized  in  1877,  but  it  always  led  a 
more  or  less  precarious  existence,  and  not  until  the  organization  of  the 
Chicago  Society  of  Etchers,  at  present  under  the  competent  leadership 
of  Bertha  E.  Jaques,  was  a  definite  and  far-reaching  effort  made  to 
foster  and  encourage  among  "American  artists"  a  stimulating  interest 
in  prints. 

While  it  is  often  said  that  a  region  of  antiquity  with  its  historic  setting, 
ancient  architecture,  cathedrals  and  bridges,  ordinarily  affords  the  fullest 
repertoire  of  subjects  for  the  etcher's  art,  it  is  nevertheless  equally  true 
that  art,  to  flourish,  must  always  possess  the  inspiration  of  novelty  to 
the  artist. 

The  wonderful  diversity  of  nature  in  California  should  arouse  the 
etcher's  enthusiasm,  and  throughout  California  inspiring  subjects  are 
readily  discoverable;  the  gnarled  cypress  of  the  Monterey  cliffs,  the 
historic  California  Missions  (with  the  appearance  of  antiquity  that  the 


ETCHING    AND  ETCHERS 


123 


etcher  loves  and  in  which  he  delights),  the  great  sequoias  with  their 
massiveness  and  grandeur,  the  meadows  with  their  giant  white  oaks, 
glimpses  of  Chinatown,  all  are  fleeting  impressions  to  be  caught  by  the 
etcher's  needle. 

The  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition,  with  its  very  compre- 
hensive and  diverse  exhibition  of  paintings,  engravings  and  etchings, 
has  revealed  not  alone  a  great  and  rising  appreciation  of  art  throughout 
this  country,  but  the  patronage  of  the  Palace  of  Fine  Arts  was  such  as 
to  indicate  a  very  genuine  and  widespread  interest  in  art  throughout 
the  West. 

The  Californian  exhibit  in  the  Palace  of  Fine  Arts,  to  a  very  notable 
degree  carried  evidence  of  the  influence  which  environment  has  exerted 
upon  the  artists  and  etchers  of  California. 

Here  is  a  region  frequently  compared  to  the  Mediterranean,  rich  in 
scenic  charm;  yet,  despite  its  many  advantages,  comparatively  few  of  the 
etchers  of  America  have  awakened  to  a  full  comprehension  of  the  oppor- 
tunities offered  by  California  to  artists. 

The  recent  organization  of  the  California  Society  of  Etchers  is  a  very 
encouraging  sign  of  the  coming  change,  and  under  the  competent  leader- 
ship of  such  well-known  artists  as  Louis  C.  Mullgardt,  Robert  B.  Harshe, 
and  others,  the  society  will  unquestionably  do  as  much  as  any  other 
organization  on  the  Pacific  Coast  to  assist  the  public  in  a  love  for  and 
an  appreciation  of  fine  prints.  In  fact,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  many 
of  our  American  etchers,  during  the  last  eight  or  ten  years,  have  risen  to 
international  prominence;  and  unquestionably  many  of  our  American 
etchers  will,  in  the  not  distant  future,  equal,  if  not  surpass,  the  best 
efforts  of  their  European  predecessors  and  contemporaries. 

Of  course,  the  greatest  of  all  American  etchers,  and  one  of  the  greatest 
etchers  of  all  time  is  "Whistler,  and  I  must  quote  here  what  I  consider 
a  very  interesting  comment  on  his  etchings  by  Mr.  Howard  Mansfield,  the 
well-known  collector  and  writer.  He  is  speaking  particularly  about  the 
result  of  the  exhibitions  which  were  given  in  London,  in  Paris,  and  in 
Boston,  shortly  after  Whistler's  death : 

"These  exhibitions  were  a  clear  demonstration  that  here  was  a  mar- 
velous artist,  who  had  explored  with  signal  achievement  nearly  every 
realm  of  art.  He  now  stood  revealed  to  the  world  as  a  painter  who  com- 
pelled technical  mastery  to  serve  the  supreme  purpose  of  beautiful 
expression.  Thus  he  produced  portraits  which  might  take  their  places 
with  the  masterpieces  of  the  century,  delineations  of  figures  that  are 
enchanting  through  the  blended  charm  of  grace  and  color,  'nocturnes' 
unsurpassed  in  their  rendering  of  the  tranquil  loveliness  of  the  night, 
marines,  wonderful  in  their  interpretation  of  the  changeful  and  entranc- 
ing moods  of  the  sea.  The  extent  of  his  work  in  lithography  came  as  a 
revelation  to  the  many,  while  the  delightfulness  of  the  lithographs 
became  a  joy  to  all.  From  a  comprehensive  view  of  his  etchings,  it 
became  clear  that  in  keenness  of  observation  and  range  of  appreciation, 
in  faculty  of  selection  and  power  of  concentrative  and  concise  expression, 


124 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


in  natural  use  of  line  and  effective  rendering  of  contrasts  of  light  and 
shade,  in  boldness  and  strength  and  in  delicacy  and  refinement  as  well, 
Whistler  was  not  only  an  unsurpassed  etcher,  but  a  supreme  artist." 
And  Mr.  Frederick  Wedmore  has  well  said : 

"If  it  is — as  most  men  know  it  is — incontestably  the  right  of  Rembrandt 
to  be  given  amongst  etchers  the  first  place,  it  is  certain  that  at  this  time — 
and  not,  I  think,  less  justly — the  two  masters  who  stand  next  to  him  in 
the  esteem  of  connoisseurs,  and  the  Criticism  that  counts  are  Meryon 
and  Whistler.  They  stand  next  in  part  by  reason  of  the  extent  and 
variety,  but  yet  more  because  of  the  force  and  fascination  of  their  work. 
.  .  .  The  touch,  in  the  record  of  buildings,  whatever  they  may  be,  is, 
in  Whistler's  Venetian  period,  a  different  touch  from  that  of  any  earlier 
day.  It  can  indicate  the  bare  and  the  squalid;  it  can  be  of  expressive 
richness.  The  Venetian  pieces  are  so  varied  in  their  interests  and  objects, 
that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  Whistler — by  that  time,  too,  in  his 
full  mid-career,  and  master  of  so  many  means — made  them  sometimes 
of  singular  intricacy,  and  this  by  methods  the  most  diverse." 

Speaking  more  particularly  of  other  Americans,  I  would  say  that 
among  modern  painter  etchers,  Mr.  D.  Shaw  MacLaughlan  holds  a  dis- 
tinguished place,  a  place  won  by  the  marvelous  quality  of  his  prints,  so 
original,  so  full  of  charm.  Mr.  MacLaughlan's  etchings  are  unique,  some 
of  them,  of  course,  in  subject,  but  more  often  because  of  the  peculiar 
sensibility  of  his  "line,"  making  each  and  every  print  a  thing  made  by 
him  and  no  one  else. 

Joseph  Pennell,  etcher,  lithographer,  author  and  illustrator,  has  been 
before  the  public  as  an  artist  for  so  many  years  that  his  name  has  become 
a  household  word  wherever  the  arts  of  engraving  and  etching  are  valued 
and  enjoyed.  Mr.  Pennell's  work  is  never  heavy,  labored,  nor  overdone, 
nor  is  nervous  fumbling  over  a  thing  already  finished  a  fault  that  may 
be  laid  at  his  door.  His  prints  sparkle  and  glow  with  light  and  color — 
they  have  incisiveness,  brilliancy,  dash.  These  characteristics  of  his 
proofs  are  undoubtedly  due  in  large  measure  to  the  artist's  customary 
method  of  work,  which  is  very  interesting.  Choosing  a  place  in  some 
crowded  street  or  in  some  industrial  plant,  he  draws  with  the  etching 
needle,  swiftly  and  with  practiced  hand,  upon  the  copper  plate  which 
he  holds  in  the  other  hand.  Apparently  neither  the  noise  of  traffic  nor 
the  curiosity  of  the  passers-by  have  power  to  move  him  from  his  concen- 
tration. Few  artists  have  the  audacity  to  work  in  this  manner,  but  how 
he  succeeds,  and  how  much  knowledge  and  experience  go  into  the 
drawing  of  those  crisp  lines ! 

In  the  art  of  lithography,  Mr.  Pennell  has  attained  a  preeminence  in 
no  way  inferior  to  his  reputation  as  an  etcher,  but  his  work  in  this 
medium,  until  very  recent  years,  has  not  been  as  extensive,  and  conse- 
quently not  so  generally  known  as  his  etchings. 

Speaking  of  Mr.  Pennell's  repute  as  an  artist  who  has  done  such  note- 
worthy things  in  lithography,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  note  especially  those 
lithographs  which  are  the  product  of  the  irresistible  appeal  Western 


ETCHING    AND  ETCHERS 


125 


scenery  made  to  his  imaginative  spirit.  In  his  dramatic  plates  depicting 
the  awe-inspiring  cliffs  of  the  Grand  Canyon,  and  the  shorter  scries 
revealing  his  interpretation  of  the  softer  beauty  of  the  Yosemitc  Valley, 
we  see  a  remarkable  example  of  the  wonderful  effects  which  may  be 
produced  by  a  master,  when  inspired  by  the  landscapes  and  mountains 
of  California  and  the  great  West. 

These  Californian  lithographs  and  the  San  Francisco  etchings,  as  well 
as  the  Panama  Canal  series,  have  not  only  been  widely  seen,  and 
admired,  but  have  brought  fresh  laurels  to  one  who,  not  content  to  rest 
on  the  achievements  of  the  past,  works  on  with  vigor  and  vision 
undiminished. 

Some  of  the  best  work  of  Ernest  Haskell  has  been  done  in  California 
quite  recently,  and  as  is  the  case  with  every  sympathetic  lover  of  trees, 
the  Monterey  cypresses  have  made  a  powerful  appeal  to  him.  In  "The 
Dolphin,"  as  in  other  prints  of  these  subjects,  he  has  succeeded  in  setting 
down  something  of  the  human  quality  which  exists  in  these  trees,  the 
quality  of  the  ancient  unyielding  struggle  for  the  right  to  live  and  grow, 
of  character  forged  in  this  warfare,  until  in  the  very  tortured,  dislocated 
shape  comes  a  new  victory  of  beauty. 

Steeped  in  the  atmosphere  of  old  Mexico,  an  etcher  of  distinguished 
attainment,  widely  traveled  and  of  ripe  culture,  Mr.  Cadwallader  Wash- 
burn has  won  on  his  merits  an  enviable  place  among  modern  artists. 

With  a  few  exceptions,  notably  the  prints  of  the  Borda  Garden  in 
Cuernavaca,  the  artist  has  chosen  architectural  subjects;  public  buildings 
and  cathedrals  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  the  several  views  of  Templo  Parro- 
quial  Taxco  and  the  churches  at  Cuernavaca,  Contreras,  and  Guanajuato. 
Displaying  in  their  economy  of  line  the  hand  of  the  skilled  draftsman, 
these  plates  have  all  the  interest  of  etchings  beautifully  executed,  with 
the  added  charm  of  the  exotic,  for  Mexico,  while  at  our  very  doors, 
remains  a  sealed  book  to  most  Northerners;  and  then,  in  every  print  one 
feels  that  hard  and  brilliant  sunlight,  beating  so  fiercely  on  the  facades 
of  churches,  shining  into  dark  corners  of  old  streets,  and  illuminating  the 
groups  of  lazy  natives. 

During  the  present  year,  Mr.  Washburn  has  executed  a  set  of  beautiful 
prints  depicting  the  grounds  and  buildings  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Inter- 
national Exposition,  which  in  the  future  will  undoubtedly  be  treasured 
as  one  of  the  most  artistic  and  comprehensive  interpretations  of  the 
Exposition. 

The  art  of  landscape  etching  brought  to  perfection  by  Rembrandt  and 
revived  by  Seymour-Haden,  has  today  many  devotees  among  the  younger 
artists,  of  whom  there  is  no  one  more  enthusiastic  nor  more  full  of 
promise  for  the  future,  than  J.  Andre  Smith,  a  young  American  architect 
residing  in  New  York.  Never  a  professional  artist,  Mr.  Smith  has  etched 
for  his  own  pleasure  in  times  of  relaxation  from  his  professional  work, 
and  thus  we  see  one  reason  why,  in  choosing  his  subjects,  he  has  for  the 
most  part  taken  his  sketch-book  or  his  copper  plate  into  the  country. 
His  newer  plates  are  stronger  in  many  ways,  and  show  at  once  greater 


126 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


confidence  and  a  more  thorough  mastery.  He  would  indeed  be  a  bold 
critic  who  would  venture  to  say  that  Mr.  Smith  will  not  be,  in  the  near 
future,  among  our  foremost  painter-etchers. 

The  appreciation  of  Mr.  Herman  Webster's  prints  has  been  so  wide- 
spread that  many  of  his  finer  etchings  have  become  exceedingly  scarce, 
and  some  of  them  are  at  present  almost  beyond  the  possibility  of  obtain- 
ing. That  the  artist's  future  accomplishment,  as  well  as  his  past  per- 
formance, will  materially  assist  in  placing  our  American  school  of 
painter-etchers  in  a  secure  and  well-recognized  position,  is  the  expecta- 
tion of  his  admirers  and  of  his  critics. 

It  is  impossible  in  this  comparatively  short  article  to  do  complete  jus- 
tice to  all  of  the  artists  doing  praiseworthy  work  in  etching,  but  I  should 
like  particularly  to  mention  the  carefully  wrought  and  beautifully 
printed  etchings  of  Ernest  Roth,  and  the  very  noteworthy  and  especially 
individual  portrait  etchings  and  dry-points  of  Auerbach  Levy.  Mr.  Levy 
is  one  of  the  younger  American  etchers  who  in  the  last  few  years  has 
attained  a  preeminence,  due  almost  exclusively  to  his  remarkable 
studies  in  portraiture.  They  are  deservedly  popular  and  have  won  him 
a  secure  place.  Then,  there  are  such  artists  as  Lester  G.  Hornby,  George 
C.  Aid,  George  T.  Plowman,  and,  among  Californians  particularly,  Miss 
Helen  Hyde  (better  known  for  her  wood-block  prints  than  for  her 
etchings),  Pedro  J.  Lemos,  Worth  Ryder,  Robert  B.  Harshe,  Louis  C. 
Mullgardt,  Gertrude  Partington,  Randall  Borough,  William  H.  Wilke, 
Perham  W.  Nahl,  Joseph  Raphael,  Armin  Hansen,  and  Gottardo  Piaz- 
zoni.  There  are,  also,  Xavier  Martinez  and  Clark  Hobart,  two  distin- 
guished artists  of  California  who  have  not  as  yet  made  many  essays  in 
the  field  of  etching,  but  whose  monotypes  in  color  are  exceedingly 
clever  and  interesting. 

The  collector  and  art  lover  of  moderate  resources  need  not  necessarily 
despair  because  of  the  inaccessibility  of  certain  treasures  that  he  covets. 
Let  him  but  look  about  him  and  take  heed  of  the  truly  remarkable  and 
beautiful  prints  that  are  being  produced  at  the  present  time.  In  fact, 
by  a  little  judicious  selection,  he  may  discover  in  the  carefully  wrought 
gems  of  his  sometimes  but  little  heeded  contemporaries  what  the  con- 
noisseurs of  the  future  will  eagerly  vie  with  each  other  to  obtain. 

Unnumbered  volumes  have  been  and  will  be  written  concerning  "Art," 
its  history,  and  its  meaning,  but  certain  it  is  that  the  study  and  appre- 
ciation of  true  art  refines,  and  that  the  possession  of  works  of  real 
artistic  merit  sweetens  and  enriches  life. 


AMERICAN  ETCHERS  OTHER  THAN 
CALIFORNIAN 


THE  BEGGARS  B,,  James  McNeill  Whistler 

Courtesy  Hill  Tolerton 


Plate  No.  261 


THE  HALF  DOME — YOSEMITE  VALLEY  Lithograph  by  Joseph  Pennell 

Courtesy  Hill  Tolerton 


Plate  No.  262 


OR  MICHELE— FLORENCE 
Courtesy  Hill  Tolerton 


By  Ernest  O.  Roth 


Plate  No.  263 


LA  MAISON  MELINE— PARIS 
Courtesy  Hill  Tolerlon 


By  Herman  A.  Webster 


Plate  Xo.  264 


THE  NEW  TALMUD 
Courtesy  Hill  Tolerton 


-  -       -"-  t% 
By  Wm.  Auerbach  Levy 


Plnte  No.  265 


GENERAL  SHERMAN— SEQUOIA  NATIONAL  PARK  By  Ernest  Haskell 

Courtesy  Hill  Tolerton 


Plate  No.  266 


Plate  No.  267 


NOTRE  DAME— PARIS  By  George  T.  Plowman 

Courtesy  Hill  Tolerton  ' 


Plate  No.  2C.8 


RAINY  NIGHT 
Courtesy  Hill  Tolerton 


Plate  No.  269 


MURAL  DECORATIONS  OF  THE 
EXPOSITION 


Reproduced  from  direct  color  plate  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co.,  Official  Photographers,  P. -P.  I.  E. 


DECORATION  BY  MILTON  HERBEBT  BANCROFT 
FOR  THE  COURT  OF  THE  FOUR  SEASONS 
DESIGNED    BY    HENRY    BACON,  ARCHITECT 

The  panel  is  fourteen  feel  by  eighteen  feet,  and  represents  "Art  Crowned  by  Time" 


Plate  No.  281 


From  direct  color  plate  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


DECORATION  BY  ROBERT  REID  FOR  THE  DOME  OF  THE  ART  BUILDING 
BEBNABD  R.  MAYBECK,  ARCHITECT 

The  panel  is  twenty-three  feet  by  twenty-seven  feet,  and  represents  "Ideals  in  Art" 


Plate  No.  280 


From  direct  color  plate  by  Cardinell  Vincent  C 


DECORATION    BY    FRANK    V.    DuMOND    FOR    A    PANEL   OF  THE  TRIUMPHAL  ARCH 
McKIM,  MEAD  &  WHITE,  ARCHITECTS 

The  entire  panel  is  twelve  feet  by  forty-six  feet,  and  represents  a  procession,  "The  Western 
March  of  Civilization,  from  the  Atlantic,  arriving  on  the  Pacific  Seaboard."  There  is  repro- 
duced here  the  light-hand  section  of  the  panel  only,  showing  the  Pacific  group  welcoming 

the  procession 


Plate  No.  2X8 


AIR— "THE  WINDMILL' 


By  Frank  Brangwyn 


The  eight  Brangwyn  murals  were  in  the  corners  of  the  ambulatory , 
Court  of  Abundance,  one  of  the  elements  represented  by  two  panels  in 
each  corner 

The  sun-gilt  windmill  in  the  midst  of  the  wind-blown  golden  grain, 
the  mounting  skies,  the  dark  wind-clouds  making  way  for  the  bright 
rainbow,  the  wind-tossed  garments  of  the  workers  passing  by — all  make 
this  dazzling  picture  seem  to  quiver  with  the  life  of  the  wind 
Plate  No.  289 


AIR— "THE  HUNTERS' 


II y  Frank  Bhancwyn 


The  hunters,  shielded  from  sight  by  the  trees  at  the  edge  of  the  forest, 
let  flu  their  arrows.  The  whole  scene  glows  in  the  ruddy  sunlight  of  late 
afternoon.  The  flight  of  the  arrows  and  the  flying  birds  emphasize  the 
thought  of  the  sustaining  air 

Plate  No.  2'M 


EARTH— "DANCING  THE  GRAPES' 


7?;/  Frank  Rrancwyn 


Under  the  generous  vine,  purple  and  green  against  a  lustrous  bine,  the 
workers  gather  the  great  clusters  and  pass  them  down  to  those  below. 
These  trample  out  the  rich  juice  in  the  great  stone  oat 

Plate  No.  291 


EARTH— "THE  FRUIT  PICKERS' 


By  Frank  Rrangwvn 


In  litis  group  so  wonderfully  composed  is  the  very  spirit  of  the  earth's 
abundance.  The  fruit  pickers  on  high  ladders,  those  bending  low  above 
the  fertile  earth,  or  bearing  the  burdens  of  overflowing  baskets,  are  all 
aglow  with  strength  and  health  and  the  warm  light  of  plentitude 


Plate  No.  292 


FIRE— "PRIMITIVE  FIRE" 


Jiy  Frank  Brangwyn 


In  the  bite  of  an  early  autumn  day,  the  workers  gather  for  warmth 
about  their  goodly  servant,  a  fire.  See  how  alive  and  true  the  thin  flame 
mounts  in  the  air 

Pinto  No.  293 


FIRE— "INDUSTRIAL  FIRE"  By  Frank  Brangwyn 

About  the  kiln,  the  workers  employ  fire  for  industrial  service.  You  can 
see  the  gases  coming  from  the  baking  clay,  in  the  metallic  colors  of  the 
rising  cloud  of  smoke.  Study  its  contrast  with  the  sky  clouds  behind  it,  to 
appreciate  this  artist's  mastery 

Plate  No.  204 


WATER— "THE  FOUNTAIN"  By  Frank  Brangwyn 

Where  the  thin  line  of  water  juts  in  a  graceful  bow  from  the  spring, 
the  people  have  come,  with  their  bright  vessels,  for  water 


Plate  No.  2'Jf) 


Plate  No.  290 


MURAL  DECORATIONS  AT  THE  PANAMA- 
PACIFIC  INTERNATIONAL  EXPOSITION 


By  HAMILTON  WRIGHT 

MURAL  PAINTINGS  are  essentially  formal.  They  are  designed  to 
present  a  decorative  effect.  At  the  Panama-Pacific  International 
Exposition  they  were  employed  to  admirable  advantage.  In  its 
decorative  quality,  a  mural  should  possess  that  peculiar  fitness  to  its 
surroundings,  to  the  nearby  architecture  and  color  that  may  be 
observed  in  some  magnificent  tessellated  doorway  or  in  an  exquisite 
portal  reproducing  the  craftsmanship  of  ages  gone.  Yet  for  all  its 
formalism,  the  mural  should  be  a  jewel,  rich  in  color,  shining  and  lus- 
trous, expressing  the  mentality  of  its  author  and  giving  the  spirit  and 
feeling  of  the  scene  or  design  he  presents  without  adhering  too  closely 
to  any  mathematical  reproduction  or  formula.  Paintings  are  not  por- 
traits. The  camera,  for  example,  records  or  should  record  a  scene  with 
absolute  fidelity;  and  if  absolute  exactness,  such  as  is  secured  by  the 
camera,  were  the  test  of  excellence  or  genius,  we  should  need  no  paint- 
ings. The  painter  and  his  greater  prototype,  the  artist,  give  us  the 
idealism  of  the  scene  which  they  portray.  In  this  portrayal  of  the  ideal, 
we  recognize  genius,  for  genius  reveals  a  subject  as  we  ourselves  would 
imagine  it  to  be  in  our  loftiest  moments.  So,  too,  the  artist  looks  behind 
the  canvas,  searches  into  the  depths  of  the  scene,  and  portrays  its 
nature  and  the  spirit  that  shines  from  it. 

Of  all  the  murals  at  the  Exposition,  those  of  Frank  Brangwyn  were 
the  most  striking.  Long  before  the  visitor  had  grasped  the  details  or 
the  subject  of  the  huge  Brangwyn  murals  in  the  Court  of  Ages,  and 
even  at  a  distance  of  hundreds  of  feet,  he  had  noted  their  marvelous 
combinations  of  colors  and  vivid  outlines,  and  their  sense  of  symmetry 
and  proportion.  This  impression  increased  nearer  at  hand,  and  the 
Exposition  visitor  marveled  at  the  wonderful  ornamental  quality  and 
brilliance  of  these  great  friezes  of  color.  The  numerous  combinations  of 
blues,  golds,  and  reds  impressed  even  those  who  made  no  pretense  to 
have  been  connoisseurs  of  art. 

No  exposition  has  ever  emphasized  mural  paintings  to  the  extent  that 
these  were  brought  out  at  the  exquisite  San  Francisco  Exposition.  Here 
were  shown  the  finest  conceptions  of  the  foremost  formal  decorative 
painters  of  the  day.  Huge  panels  125  feet  long  and  from  ten  to  fifteen 
feet  in  width  ornamented  the  vast  inner  recesses  of  the  great  triumphal 
arches,  or  were  set  in  niches  to  lend  a  closing  vista  to  a  long  avenue  of 
stately  colonnades.  Or  again  they  were  placed  above  decorative  portals, 
in  corners  of  courts,  presenting  symbolical  renditions  of  subjects  in 
harmony  with  the  surroundings.  Sometimes,  however,  they  carried  no 


130 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


especial  significance,  bearing  only  that  message  of  art  and  beauty 
which  is  intended  of  a  purely  fanciful  work. 

Eight  of  the  world's  most  famous  mural  painters  contributed  their 
best  works  to  give  the  world,  at  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Expo- 
sition, the  most  beautiful  exhibition  of  mural  art  for  out-of-doors  pro- 
duced by  contemporaneous  decorators.  It  had  hardly  been  expected 
that  an  effect  so  graphic,  so  striking,  so  formal  and  decorative  would 
have  been  attained.  Nowhere,  perhaps,  could  have  been  better  shown 
this  most  artistic  phase  of  the  poster  art;  yet  the  out-of-door  Exposition 
murals  in  brilliancy  and  execution  far  excelled  any  contemporaneous 
works  that  have  been  shown  in  America  or  abroad  in  recent  years.  The 
value  of  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  used  was  enhanced  because 
so  many  of  them  were  peculiarly  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  times 
and  all  bore  relation  to  their  setting. 

The  mural  paintings  of  Frank  Brangwyn  in  the  Court  of  Ages  were 
devoted  to  the  elements,  Air,  Earth,  Fire,  Water,  there  being  two  panels 
for  each  subject.  These  paintings  (which,  though  removed  from  their 
former  positions  at  the  Exposition,  have,  of  course,  been  preserved), 
possess  a  wonderful  dramatic  and  epic  quality.  They  treat  the  elements 
in  their  relation  to  humanity,  the  service  which  they  render  to  the 
human  race.  They  have,  indeed,  that  simple  and  direct  impression  that 
one  gains  from  a  great  painting,  for  example,  "The  Man  with  the  Hoe"; 
and  yet,  like  all  murals,  they  were  essentially  formal,  component  parts, 
almost,  of  the  architecture  of  the  palaces,  features  of  a  general  decorative 
plan  merging  into  and  enriching  their  surroundings  without  calling 
undue  attention  to  their  own  character. 

In  the  subject  of  "Air,"  Mr.  Brangwyn  has  two  panels,  "The  Hunters" 
and  "The  Windmill."  The  latter  is  by  far  the  most  impressive,  partly 
due  to  the  fact  that  here  is  a  single  theme  elaborately  worked  out;  but 
its  major  note  is  apparent  at  first  glance.  Here,  expressive  of  the  service 
that  air  confers  upon  mankind,  rises  as  the  central  figure  of  the  com- 
position a  great  windmill,  comparable  to  those  we  are  accustomed  to 
have  seen  in  landscapes  of  Holland,  or  to  have  read  of  in  the  adven- 
turous annals  of  Don  Quixote.  It  rises  well  from  the  center  of  the  panel 
amid  a  field  of  yellow  golden  grain.  Indeed,  the  gold  and  blues  in 
Brangwyn's  paintings  are  so  luminous,  vivid,  and  delicate  that  the 
beholder  almost  feels  he  is  gazing  upon  some  transparency  behind  and 
through  which  shines  a  diffused  light,  a  light  not  directly  visible  but  felt 
by  its  reflected  rays.  Here  the  dark  wind  clouds  are  making  way  for  a 
bright  rainbow.  The  wind-tossed  garments  of  the  workers  passing  by 
make  a  picture  that  seems  to  quiver  with  the  life  of  the  wind.  Leaves 
are  flying;  garments  are  carried  in  the  air  by  the  kindly  wind  which 
turns  the  mill  and  grinds  the  harvest  of  the  golden  grain  fields  seen 
below.  As  in  all  of  Brangwyn's  paintings,  here  are  the  muscled  men 
picturesquely  draped,  carrying  in  this  case  the  burden  of  the  harvest, 
with  the  more  slender  figures  of  youths  and  maidens  following  in  the 
poppy  colored  fields. 


MURAL  DECORATIONS 


131 


The  other  Brangwyn  panel  coming  under  the  head  of  "Air"  is  entitled 
"The  Hunters,"  in  which  two  hunters,  screened  from  sight  by  the  trees 
at  the  edge  of  a  forest,  are  letting  fly  their  arrows.  The  flight  of  the 
arrows  and  the  progress  of  the  flying  birds  emphasize  the  thought  of 
the  sustaining  air.  The  whole  scene  glows  in  the  ruddy  sunlight  of  the 
late  afternoon. 

The  elemental  subject  "Earth,"  also  by  Brangwyn,  is  done  in  two 
panels,  of  which  one  is  entitled  "The  Grapes"  and  the  other  "The  Fruit 
Pickers."  The  latter,  a  reproduction  of  which  is  presented  with  this 
article,  portrays  the  spirit  of  the  bounteousness  of  earth;  the  figures  are 
beautifully  produced,  some  clothed  like  Arabs,  others  as  gypsies,  or 
perhaps  the  peasants  of  primitive  countries.  The  fruit  pickers  are  upon 
high  ladders  gathering  the  golden  harvest  of  the  orange  trees.  Those 
below  are  gathering  the  vegetable  harvest  from  the  soil.  The  panel 
reflects  graphically  and  vividly  the  prodigious  wealth  that  a  prodigal 
Nature  bestows  upon  mankind.  Mr.  Brangwyn  has  portrayed  Nature  in 
her  most  bountiful  aspect,  lavishing  her  gifts  with  inconceivable  gen- 
erosity. But  the  wealth  of  Nature's  gifts  suggested  by  the  distinguished 
Welsh  muralist  has  an  analogy  in  his  prodigality  of  ideas,  in  his 
wealth  of  riotous,  vivid  colors,  in  the  composition  of  this  splendid  mural 
which  we  consider  as  undoubtedly  one  of  the  finest  mural  paintings  in 
the  world.  Compare  this  panel  with  the  famed  Gobelin  tapestries  of  the 
fifteenth  century  and  you  will  see  how  very  far  the  decorative  art  as 
applied  to  flat  color  work  has  advanced. 

In  Mr.  Brangwyn's  discussion  of  the  element  "Water,"  there  are  shown 
great  muscled  fishermen  pulling  upon  a  net  and  hauling  in  their  fish 
from  the  sea.  Above  are  clouds  lush  with  moisture  as  if  about  to  pre- 
cipitate their  rain  upon  the  earth,  while  upon  the  ground  appear  the 
figures  of  gigantic  slaves  bearing  water  bottles  upon  their  heads.  The 
fishermen  stand  in  the  lush  reeds;  the  whole  composition  might  have 
been  taken  from  Sinbad,  the  Sailor.  Mr.  Brangwyn's  companion  mural 
portraying  water  is  entitled  "The  Fountain."  It  shows  people  coming 
with  their  bright  water  receptacles  to  a  spring  from  which  a  thin  line 
of  water  juts  in  a  graceful  stream.  Here  the  liquid  beauty  of  the  sky 
and  water  in  the  background  and  the  wonderful  gradations  of  color 
are  much  to  be  enjoyed. 

But  there  are  many  other  wonderful  works  which  illustrate  the  pic- 
torial, poetic,  and  decorative  triumphs  achieved  in  the  mural  paintings 
at  the  Exposition.  The  decorations  were  as  carefully  planned  as  any 
works  of  art  shown  upon  the  grounds,  and  the  artists  who  executed 
them  are  known  and  acknowledged  as  masters.  They  have  won  in  their 
fields  of  endeavor  every  distinction  that  the  world  could  give.  Those 
who  comprise  the  distinguished  group  of  Panama-Pacific  International 
Exposition  muralists  are  Frank  Brangwyn,  Robert  Reid,  William  de 
Leftwich  Dodge,  Edward  Simmons,  Frank  Vincent  Du  Mond,  Childe 
Hassam,  Milton  Herbert  Bancroft,  Charles  Holloway,  and  Arthur 
Mathews. 


132 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


The  largest  and  in  many  respects  the  most  significant  murals  shown 
at  the  Exposition  were  those  which  more  than  any  others  expressed  the 
motif  of  the  giant  celebration.  These  depict  the  romantic  circumstances 
that  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  Isthmian  Canal  and  to  its  completion. 
They  exalt  and  glorify  the  power  of  endurance  and  sacrifice  of  labor  to 
give  to  the  world  and  to  civilization  this  consummate  engineering  work, 
and  they  interpret  the  history,  spirit,  and  achievement  of  the  Panama 
Canal  and  its  lasting  significance  as  a  bond  through  which  the  Orient, 
rich  in  its  splendors  and  seemingly  entrenched  in  its  traditions  of 
thousands  of  years,  meets  the  West,  adventurous,  pushing  forward,  and 
ready  to  exchange  its  arts  and  achievements  for  those  of  the  mystic  East. 
The  Dodge  panels  devoted  to  the  Panama  Canal  themes  are  200  feet  long 
by  16  feet  in  height.  They  are  divided  into  three  parts,  the  central 
panel  being  96  feet  long.  On  the  west  wall  of  the  arch  within  the  Tower 
of  Jewels,  the  main  panel  is  called  the  "Atlantic  and  Pacific."  Between 
the  spirits  of  the  two  great  oceans,  one  appearing  above  the  Eastern,  and 
one  above  the  Western  land,  stands  a  symbolical  figure  of  Labor,  uniting 
the  oceans  with  the  powerful  arms  that  have  just  sundered  the  barriers 
between  the  East  and  West.  The  Western  race  is  indicated  by  pioneers 
and  laborers  who  have  wrested  civilization  from  the  wilderness,  a  vig- 
orous group ;  but  while  they  have  accomplished  this  result,  in  spite  of  his 
vain  though  courageous  resistance,  they  have  all  but  crowded  the  Amer- 
ican Indian,  whose  figure  is  symbolized,  from  his  native  land.  These,  as 
well  as  all  the  magnificent  murals  within  the  Tower  of  Jewels  by 
Wm.  de  Leftwich  Dodge,  were  placed  far  above  the  visitor  at  the  Expo- 
sition; indeed,  they  were  placed  more  than  100  feet  above  the  ground, 
but  even  at  that  distance  did  not  lose  perceptibly  of  their  dramatic 
nature,  so  great  was  their  size  and  so  vivid  their  coloring. 

Following  the  first  of  the  panels,  "The  Atlantic  and  Pacific,"  came 
"Discovery,"  symbolizing  that  first  vision  by  white  men  of  the  Pana- 
manian isthmus;  then  followed  "The  Purchase,"  its  subject  being  devoted 
to  the  sale  by  France  to  America  of  her  control  of  the  Panama  Canal 
region;  next  the  "Gateway  of  All  Nations"  exalted  the  laborers  with 
work  achieved,  resting  and  made  noble  from  their  toil.  "Achievement," 
a  mural  very  similar  in  theme  to  the  "Gateway  of  All  Nations,"  came 
next,  while  "Labor  Crowned"  was  the  final  panel  by  William  de  Leftwich 
Dodge. 

These  fine  murals  give  one  a  feeling  of  the  spiritual  and  racial  sig- 
nificance of  the  Panama  Canal.  In  the  Dodge  murals  we  find  the  Her- 
culean effort  involved  in  the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal  with 
its  record  of  disaster,  death,  strife  against  surpassing  obstacles,  spiritu- 
alized and  almost  immortalized.  In  the  panel  "Discovery,"  for  example, 
the  figure  of  Balboa,  booted  and  holding  high  the  flag  of  Spain,  gazes 
toward  a  new  ocean  and  from  an  eminence,  confronts  the  figure 
of  an  Indian,  who,  in  the  stern  and  taut  personality  of  the  adventurer, 
foresees  as  with  a  touch  of  impending  prophecy  the  doom  of  his 
own  race.  Adventurous  Fortune,  an  angel  hovering  near,  seems  to  lead 


MURAL  DECORATIONS 


133 


onward  the  daring  Spanish  soldier  to  carry  out  the  imperative  decrees 
of  civilization  and  to  guard  his  steps  so  that  they  may  mark  a  path  for 
millions  yet  to  come.  Behind  appears  a  galleon  of  the  Spanish  Main. 

In  "Achievement,"  we  see  the  impressive  figure,  Achievement,  a  deity 
as  it  were,  seated  upon  a  throne  with  a  sphere,  symbolizing  the  world, 
held  in  extended  right  hand,  while  upon  his  knees  rests  a  volume  dis- 
closing the  record  of  the  human  race.  Laborers  press  toward  the  throne 
to  receive  their  reward.  The  bared  torsos,  the  mighty  muscles,  the  huge 
picks  reveal  the  great  elemental  qualities  of  strength  and  perseverance 
that  necessarily  underlie  all  achievement.  The  decorative  qualities  of 
this  surpassing  panel,  which  nevertheless  tells  a  story,  are  very  marked. 
Burning  braziers  rise  on  standards  upon  each  side  of  the  throne.  The 
photograph  here  reproduced  gives  an  idea  of  the  contrasts  in  light 
evident  in  the  mural,  although  it  can  not,  of  course,  reveal  the  contrasts 
in  color.  And  yet  it  seems  as  if  Achievement,  upon  his  flaming  throne  of 
light,  an  idealized  figure,  stern  and  useful,  powerful  and  untiring,  is  a 
god  from  whom  a  divine  radiance  and  effulgence  flash. 

With  theme  closely  allied  to  the  Dodge  murals  are  those  by  Edward 
Simmons,  within  the  eastern  arch  of  the  Court  of  the  Universe,  express- 
ing the  romance  and  invention  of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  companion  panel 
by  Frank  Vincent  Du  Mond  placed  within  the  western  arch  upon  the 
opposite  side  of  the  court.  These  treat  of  the  adventurous  march  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  civilization  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  across  the 
vast  spaces  of  America  to  the  Pacific,  where  the  West  looks  out  upon 
the  East. 

Each  of  the  four  panels  is  47  feet  in  length  and  12  feet  high.  The 
first  of  the  Simmons  panels  represents  the  "Call  of  Fortune."  Here  we 
behold  the  figures  of  those  early  explorers  who  crossed  the  ocean  to 
find  the  new  world :  the  half  savage  of  the  lost  continent  of  the  Atlantic, 
the  Boman  conqueror,  the  Spanish  explorer  typified  by  the  figure  repre- 
senting Columbus,  the  American  explorer  suggesting  Sir  Walter  Baleigh, 
a  priest  typifying  the  early  Franciscan  missionaries  who  carried  the 
cross  to  America,  the  artist  bringing  the  arts,  and  the  workman  immi- 
grant of  today,  less  spectacular  but  inspired  by  the  same  visions,  hear- 
ing those  same  voices  that  called  his  earlier  prototypes.  Thus  today  the 
modern  hearkens  to  the  wealth  of  the  new  world,  luring  him  with  its 
possibilities  of  employment  and  wealth.  In  the  background  of  the  panel 
appear  the  ships  of  many  decades,  from  the  earliest  vessel  to  the  mod- 
ern ocean  greyhound. 

The  other  Simmons  panel  on  the  north  wall  of  the  Arch  of  the  Bising 
Sun  is  a  companion  to  the  one  just  mentioned.  Here  are  depicted  the 
hopes  and  ideals  that  have  led  men  to  cross  the  Atlantic.  At  the  far  left 
are  figures  symbolizing  True  Hope  and  Illusory  Hope.  Shattered  pledges, 
false  promises  are  being  left  in  the  trail  of  Illusory  Hope,  and  the  bold 
figure  of  Adventure  vainly  tries  to  pick  them  up.  Then  follow  the  true 
ideals,  Commerce,  Imagination,  the  Fine  Arts,  and  Beligion  with  wealth 
and  family  joys,  a  woman  with  babes,  all  representative  of  those  more 


134 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


dependable  goals  to  which  the  onward  struggler,  bearing  his  heavy  bur- 
dens, may  well  press  forward.  In  the  background  are  suggestions  of  a 
fabulous  Oriental  city  and,  by  contrast,  a  city  of  modern  times,  illustrat- 
ing the  practical  and  ideal  as  motives  for  human  enterprise. 

Frank  Vincent  Du  Mond's  paintings  within  the  Arch  of  the  Setting 
Sun  balance  the  themes  of  those  in  the  opposite  arch.  Here  the  panel, 
"The  Departure  for  the  West,"  represents  the  pioneers  of  a  stern  New 
England  village  starting  forth  from  their  bleak  coast  with  its  bare  rocks 
and  drifting  snows  toward  the  Pacific  Coast.  Here  are  shown  four 
groups  of  figures,  two  workmen  and  a  woman  holding  a  child,  a  sym- 
bolical figure  of  the  Call  to  Fortune,  a  group  portraying  types  of  those 
who  crossed  the  continent,  the  driver  first,  and  then  the  preacher,  the 
pioneer,  the  judge,  and  the  school  mistress,  four  children  representing 
the  family  idea;  and  in  the  background  an  old  Concord  wagon  filled 
with  household  goods,  including  an  old-time  clock,  give  evidence  of  the 
early  methods  of  travel.  This  exquisite  mural,  despite  its  size,  is  like 
some  fine  bit  of  china,  with  light  and  luminous  colors  combined  to  a 
rare  degree;  its  pictorial,  poetic,  and  decorative  qualities  all  are  strong 
and  masterful.  And  yet,  as  in  the  case  of  all  murals,  they  harmonize 
with  the  setting. 

The  second  of  the  Du  Mond  paintings  is  the  "Arrival  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,"  which  represents  the  immigrants  being  welcomed  after  they 
reach  California.  The  panel  is  filled  with  color  representative  of  the 
joy  and  life  and  abundance  to  be  found  in  the  West,  as  contrasted  with 
the  rigors  of  the  country  from  which  the  immigrants  have  departed. 
Here  in  the  land,  fertile  in  bounty,  where  Nature  has  lavished  her 
wealth  upon  mankind  and  in  her  conquest  sits  enthroned  amid  fruits 
in  abundance,  the  West,  land  of  opportunity,  awaits  the  newcomers. 
And  at  last,  after  many  days,  they  have  reached  their  goal.  In  this 
panel  is  a  golden  warmlh,  a  radiance  of  color  conveying  an  inexpressible 
feeling  of  exhilaration  such  as  one  experiences  who  awakes  some  morn- 
ing to  find  the  brilliant,  golden  morning  sun  streaming  through  the 
windows  beside  his  bed,  and  realizes  that  a  new  day  with  its  strange, 
unguessed  adventures  and  its  wealth  of  opportunity  awaits.  In  this 
panel  are  shown  four  groups  of  figures,  the  first  two  being  Spanish- 
American  soldiers  and  a  captain  and  a  priest,  typical  of  the  days  of 
Spanish  rule  in  California  and  of  the  Mission  period.  Second,  there  is 
a  symbolical  figure,  the  Spirit  of  Enlightenment,  while  the  third  main 
group  portrays  the  types  of  immigrant.  Here  come  the  artist,  the  scholar, 
the  sculptor,  the  author,  the  scientist,  the  agriculturist,  and  the  miner. 
Among  them  one  may  recognize  Bret  Harte,  William  Keith,  the  famous 
painter  of  California  landscapes,  and  others.  California's  welcome  is 
symbolized  in  the  wealth  it  has  to  offer  settlers,  the  orange  tree,  the 
sheaves  of  grain  and  fruits,  the  figures  including  the  miner,  the  farmer, 
the  fruit  picker,  and  the  California  bear.  These  superb  panels,  aside 
from  their  decorative  effect,  are  like  exquisite  brooches,  rich  in  detail, 
coloring,  finish,  but  upon  a  vast  scale.   One  discovers  a  singular  appro- 


MURAL  DECORATIONS 


135 


priateness  to  the  theme  which  they  represent.  They  carry  out  and 
sound  the  note  of  the  prodigious  sculptures,  and  aside  from  their 
effect  as  rich  jeweled  embellishments,  carry  forward  the  note  of  the 
Exposition. 

In  the  Court  of  the  Four  Seasons,  which  is  a  balancing  or  pendant 
court  to  the  Court  of  Ages,  heretofore  described,  wherein  you  saw  Frank 
Brangwyn's  murals,  you  beheld  the  admirable  murals  of  Milton  Her- 
bert Bancroft,  portraying  the  joys  of  the  seasons,  their  fruitfulness,  the 
part  which  each  renders  to  mankind.  These  panels  were  each  set  at  the 
end  of  long  corridors  so  that  the  visitor  beheld  them  framed  by  colon- 
nades. Their  color  prevails  in  warm,  golden  tones,  that  harmonized 
exquisitely  with  the  pale  ivory  yellow  of  the  walls  of  the  exhibit  palaces. 
Two  big  motives  are  expressed  in  these  murals;  one  is  the  richness  and 
vigor  of  an  abundant  Nature,  the  other  is  the  celebration  of  the  artistic 
achievements  of  men.  The  two  larger  panels  in  the  court  were  entitled 
"Man  Beceiving  Instruction  in  Nature's  Laws"  and  "Art  Crowned  by 
Time."  Each  of  these  is  fourteen  feet  wide  and  eighteen  feet  high.  The 
panel  "Man  Beceiving  Instructions  in  Nature's  Laws"  was  placed  in  a 
great  half  dome  which  forms  the  southern  entrance  to  the  court  and 
which  was  seen  as  the  main  feature  of  the  court  upon  entering  it  at  its 
main  entrance  or  forecourt  that  opens  on  San  Francisco  Harbor.  In  con- 
sidering these  paintings,  one  should  always  bear  in  mind  that  the  artists 
were  required  to  bring  their  murals  into  color  harmony  with  the  general 
color  plan  of  the  Exposition.  With  the  exception  of  Frank  Brangwyn's 
murals  in  the  Court  of  Ages,  they  were  all  limited  to  a  pallet  of  five 
colors  in  order  that  the  panels  should  harmonize  with  the  larger  color 
scheme  for  the  entire  exhibition  which  had  been  devised  by  Jules  Guerin, 
the  noted  decorative  artist.  Though  these  instructions,  indeed,  in  a 
measure,  prevented  the  artists  from  exercising  their  freest  imaginative 
qualities,  yet  they  brought  the  panels  into  that  true  harmony  with  their 
setting  which  mural  panels  must  always  possess. 

The  panel,  "Man  Beceiving  Instruction  in  Nature's  Laws,"  is  formal 
not  alone  in  trend  but  in  theme.  Here  is  seen  a  woman  holding  for  a 
child  a  tablet  inscribed  "Laws  of  Nature,"  while  upon  one  side  are  the 
symbolical  representations  of  elementary  forces  of  nature,  Fire,  Earth, 
and  Water,  and  upon  the  other  those  of  the  more  potent  elements  in  the 
human  career,  Love,  Life,  and  Death.  Here  you  will  find  that  the  forces 
which  the  universe  has  brought  to  the  service  of  man  stand  attendant  on 
the  child.  Fire,  Earth,  Water,  Death,  Love,  and  Life — all  these  will 
serve  mankind,  even  from  the  beginning  of  his  days,  if  he  will  but  heed 
the  lesson  which  Nature  teaches  him. 

In  the  other  panel  in  the  half  dome,  "Art  Crowned  by  Time,"  the  god- 
dess Beauty  awaits  the  verdict  of  the  coming  centuries,  confident  that 
she  will  triumph  over  all  immediate  situations  and  that  in  the  end  her 
consummate  appeal  to  all  mankind  will  be  recognized  by  the  verdict  of 
the  ages.  The  others  of  Mr.  Bancroft's  mural  paintings  in  this  court 
were  dedicated  to  the  great  observance  of  seasonal  harvests  which 


136 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


was  so  significantly  participated  in  by  the  ancients,  particularly  the 
Greeks,  and  which  every  scholar  will  recall  as  having  given  rise  to  many 
poetical  epics  exalting  and  commemorating  the  beneficence  of  the  har- 
vest deities.  These  panels  are  of  less  size  than  the  two  before  mentioned, 
being  fourteen  feet  wide  and  nine  feet  high.  There  are  eight  of  the 
panels,  each  two  forming  companion  pieces  to  the  four  sculptured  foun- 
tains in  the  four  corners  of  the  court.  The  fountains  were  done  by  Furio 
Piccirilli  and  symbolized  the  four  seasons,  Spring,  Summer,  Autumn, 
and  Winter.  Mr.  Bancroft's  murals  symbolize  Spring,  Seedtime,  Sum- 
mer, Fruition,  Autumn,  Harvest,  Winter,  and  Festivity.  These  were 
given  two  by  two.  A  feature  which  struck  all  beholders  of  these  splendid 
murals  was  the  fidelity  with  which  each  interpreted  the  subject.  Spring, 
for  example,  showed  the  spring  of  the  piping  shepherd,  of  youth,  of 
young  love,  and  Pan  inspired  by  the  season  when  the  world  turns  to 
love.  Seedtime  discloses  Spring  extending  her  promise  for  the  coming 
season  and  the  harvest  men  looking  hopefully  to  the  year  begun.  In 
Summer,  vigorous  youth  in  athletic  pursuits  throws  a  discus,  or  with 
canoe  and  oar  competes  in  the  sports  of  the  outdoor  season.  Fruition 
depicts  the  laborer  involved  in  gathering  the  fruit,  and  Autumn,  its 
climax,  in  the  harvest  festival.  In  Winter,  the  hunter  and  woodsman 
gather  at  the  household  and  Nature  lays  aside  her  labors  to  engage  in 
spinning  by  the  fireside.  Festivity,  the  closing  mural,  depicts  the  Christ- 
mas season. 

Aside  from  the  murals  here  mentioned,  there  were  also  murals  in  the 
Courts  of  Palms  and  Flowers,  and  within  the  rotunda  of  the  Palace  of 
Fine  Arts.  Needless  to  say,  of  course,  numerous  murals  were  displayed 
in  the  stately  foreign  pavilions,  and  ornamental  mural  decorative  art 
was  exemplified  not  only  by  paintings  but,  as  in  the  case  of  the  French 
pavilion,  by  many  classic  tapestries  where  original  Gobelins  and  others 
were  shown.  Chas.  W.  Holloway,  widely  known  throughout  America 
for  his  stained  glass  work  and  who  won  the  gold  medal  for  his  stained 
glasses  at  the  Paris  Exposition,  which  were  purchased  by  the  French 
government,  designed  the  exquisite  lunette,  the  "Pursuit  of  Pleasure," 
over  the  entrance  to  the  Palace  of  Liberal  Arts.  This  is  a  peculiarly 
bewitching  panel.  Pleasure,  an  alluring  figure,  brilliant  and  of  brightest 
tints,  drifts  by  like  the  thistledown,  just  out  of  reach,  and  throws  a 
provoking  and  tantalizing  but  altogether  entrancing  smile  at  her  fol- 
lowers. There  is  a  pleasing  lightness  to  the  touch  of  these  panels,  and 
the  bright  reds  and  blues  are  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  court. 
They  express  the  spirit  of  youth  and  the  joy  of  life  when  all  the  world 
is  seeking  pleasure. 

Every  one,  of  course,  knows  of  Childe  Hassam,  whose  panel  "Fruits 
and  Flowers"  was  placed  over  the  entrance  to  the  Palace  of  Education  on 
the  western  side  of  the  Court  of  Palms.  In  its  bright  colors,  clear  atmos- 
phere, and  the  charm  of  a  masterly  technician,  this  appropriate  mural 
indicates  the  wealth  of  California  in  flowers  and  fruits.  Arthur  M. 
Mathews,  in  this  court,  had  a  lunette,  "The  Victory  of  Culture  Over 


MURAL  DECORATIONS 


137 


Force."  This  is  a  panel  of  brilliant  and  delightful  colors,  with  the  deco- 
rative masses  of  color  well  placed,  and  an  impressive  and  beautiful 
treatment.  In  it  is  shown  Culture,  the  Spirit  of  Enlightenment,  spurning 
force  and  protecting  Youth  from  materialism  and  the  discordant  ele- 
ments of  life.  Attending  Youth  are  the  peace-bringing  elements  of  life : 
Religion,  Philosophy,  the  Arts,  Education.  The  philosophy  of  this  paint- 
ing is  sound,  and  the  composition  and  drawing  are  unusually  well  done. 
The  colors  are  much  deeper  than  those  of  most  of  the  Exposition 
murals. 

The  last  of  the  notable  formal  murals  used  to  decorate  the  exhibit 
palaces  are  those  placed  upon  the  inner  ceiling  of  the  dome  of  the 
rotunda,  rising  like  a  great  Roman  temple  before  the  Palace  of  Fine 
Arts,  but  identified  in  every  respect  with  the  architectural  theme  of 
the  palace  and  forming,  really,  a  portion  of  it.  There  are  eight  of  these 
inspiring  panels.  As  one  looks  up  at  them  in  the  lofty  vault  far 
above,  they  seem  as  almost  indescribable  bits  of  color,  with  traceries 
as  delicate  as  the  weavings  of  a  spider's  web,  and  designs  as  fantastic  as, 
but  far  more  beautiful  than  those  ever  executed  by  the  most  cunning 
of  the  ancient  Chinese  goldsmiths.  The  works  are  notable  for  their 
fluent,  bright,  and  fervent  spirit  of  youth  and  joy.  They  come  in  two  sets 
of  four  panels  each,  placed  alternately.  In  one  of  the  sets  are  repre- 
sented the  golds  of  California:  the  golden  poppy,  the  golden  grain,  the 
golden  fruit,  and  the  golden  metal.  The  other  is  devoted  to  the  golden 
arts,  comprising  European  art,  Oriental  art,  ideals  in  art,  and  inspira- 
tion in  all  arts.  No  more  famous  nor  beautiful  combination  of  themes 
could  have  been  chosen  than  this.  Happily  the  majestic  Palace  of  Fine 
Arts,  most  exquisite  of  all  Exposition  palaces  and  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  structures  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  is  still  standing,  and  it 
is  planned  that  it  shall  remain  for  all  time;  and  those  who  may  yet 
have  the  opportunity  of  visiting  this  majestic  palace  will,  when  they 
look  upward  to  the  inner  vault  of  its  great  dome,  be  impressed  by  the 
brilliant,  decorative  effect  of  these  mural  paintings,  and  by  their  won- 
derful blending  into  a  radiantly  brilliant  and  exquisite  scene. 

To  enumerate  the  eight  panels  specifically,  let  us  take  first  those  that 
deal  with  the  golden  arts  in  general,  and  subsequently  those  that  deal 
with  California  arts.  First  is  the  "Rirth  of  European  Art,"  depicting  the 
rise  of  the  infant  art  of  Europe.  The  guardian  goddess  with  her  three 
attendants  surround  an  altar  on  which  burns  a  sacred  flame,  protecting 
the  young  art  of  Europe  and  inspiring  its  childish  vision  so  that  in  the 
years  to  come  it  may  reach  the  bright  Elysium  of  human  attainment.  A 
human  messenger  grasps  the  torch  of  inspiration  and  carries  it  aloft 
in  his  chariot  which  is  led  onward  by  imagination  flying  with  the  wings 
of  the  wind.  One  of  the  attendants  bears  the  globe  of  insight  and  knowl- 
edge, one  the  fairy  wand  of  fancy,  one  the  oil  of  industry  that  feeds  the 
devotional  pursuit  of  art,  and  another  is  enshrouded  in  the  quiet  cloak 
of  thought.  The  "Birth  of  Oriental  Art"  depicts  a  man  on  a  dragon 
attacking  an  eagle,  symbolizing  man's  effort  to  attain  the  inspiration  of 


138 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


the  heavens.  Below,  China  will  be  recognized  in  the  man  with  the  bril- 
liantly colored  robe,  and  Japan  in  a  woman  with  bright  parasol  sym- 
bolizing the  womanly  loveliness  that  inspires  Eastern  as  well  as  Western 
artists,  and  who  sits  beside  the  flowers,  lending  the  spirit  of  Oriental 
feeling.  In  "Ideals  in  Art"  are  represented  the  ideals  which  have  inspired 
the  artist,  from  ancient  days  to  the  present.  Beauty,  the  Greek  ideal,  is 
depicted  gazing  into  a  mirror.  "Beligious  Inspiration"  is  indicated  by 
the  Madonna  adoring  the  babe;  the  Heroic  by  Jeanne  d'Arc  upon  her 
charger,  while  Fame  holds  aloft  the  laurel  wreath.  In  "Inspiration  of 
All  Arts,"  Music,  Painting,  Poetry,  Sculpture,  and  Architecture  get  their 
inspiration  from  the  glow  of  divine  fire,  held  on  high  by  a  winged  mes- 
senger. A  servitor  draws  aside  the  curtains  of  darkness. 

Altogether,  the  mural  art  at  the  Exposition  proved  a  wonderful  suc- 
cess. These  large  and  exquisite  out-of-door  panels  were  singularly  in 
consonance  with  their  surroundings  and  blended  with  the  wonderful 
colors  of  the  Exposition  itself.  They  matched  the  golds  of  California's 
poppies,  the  blue  of  her  heavens,  the  browns  and  grays  of  her  summer 
hills,  and  struck  a  chord  in  harmony  with  the  gorgeous  setting  that 
Nature  had  provided  for  the  Exposition.  Happily,  there  could  come  no 
snows  to  the  Exposition  City,  and  during  the  Exposition  period  the  joy 
and  life  of  this  international  festival  contrasted  with  the  joyous  por- 
trayals of  the  mural  painters.  For  a  muralist  is  in  his  happiest  mood 
when  he  portrays  life  in  its  summer  time,  its  flood  tide. 


CALIFORNIA'S  OPPORTUNITIES  IN 
ARTISTIC  LANDSCAPING 


By  JOHN  McLAREN 

IT  WILL,  I  think,  be  universally  conceded  that  the  Panama-Pacific 
International  Exposition  brought  before  its  many  thousands  of  visi- 
tors the  relation  existing  between  a  great  work  of  architecture  and 
its  setting.  Never  had  trees,  flowers,  and  shrubs  indigenous  to  as  many 
parts  of  the  globe  been  so  freely  employed  at  a  great  world  exposition. 
To  an  unusual  degree  the  Exposition  pointed  out  the  unsurpassed  oppor- 
tunity in  California  to  take  the  fullest  advantage  of  the  state's  great 
floral  and  arboreal  wealth  by  utilizing  artistic  combinations  of  beau- 
tiful trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers  to  enhance  the  effect  of  the  vast  exhibit 
palaces  and  their  decorative  sculptures.  More  and  more  the  public  is 
beginning  to  realize  that  while  an  architectural  composition  may  be 
almost  perfect  in  itself,  yet  in  inharmonious  surroundings  much  of  its 
beauty  is  lost  and  it  fails  to  carry  forth  the  intent  of  the  architect. 
The  relation  between  a  beautiful  structure  and  its  grounds  and  the 
neighboring  buildings  is  a  very  definite  one.  At  the  great  Exposition  the 
landscaping  became  as  much  a  part  of  the  general  plan  as  were  the 
architecture,  the  color,  the  sculpture,  and  the  lighting.  All  taken 
together  constituted  the  essential  features  of  the  artistic  ensemble,  the 
magnificent  effect  of  the  third  and  most  recent  of  world  expositions  in 
America. 

Before  the  landscaping  department  of  the  Exposition  undertook  the 
preparation  of  the  grounds,  its  plans  were  carefully  laid  in  reference 
to  the  relation  which  the  decorative  trees  and  plants  in  the  courts, 
boulevards,  and  promenades  would  bear  to  their  surroundings.  The 
entire  landscape  work,  in  fact,  was  planned  in  relation  to  the  Exposi- 
tion as  a  whole.  Here  there  was  made  possible,  by  reason  of  California's 
wealth  in  plant  life,  its  splendid  climatic  conditions  and  all-the-year 
season,  a  scheme  of  landscaping  that  would  add  to  the  high  standard  of 
decoration  which  it  was  desired  to  establish. 

The  reader  will,  of  course,  understand  that  in  all  plans  where  land- 
scaping effects  are  to  be  employed,  it  is  customary  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  plans  of  the  architect.  In  the  case  of  the  Exposition,  the 
dimensions  and  notable  features  of  the  palaces,  the  slate  buildings,  the 
great  courts,  the  sculptural  and  architectural  decorations  surrounding 
the  various  areas  which  were  to  be  adorned  by  the  plants,  flowers,  and 
trees  were  all  carefully  considered.  We  had  unusual  advantages  for  this 
work.  Climatic  conditions  made  possible  the  planting  of  luxuriant 
growths  to  endure  throughout  the  entire  Exposition  season.  Also  it  was 


140 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


possible  to  maintain,  by  transplanting,  vast  beds  of  flowers  in  bloom, 
while  a  great  abundance  of  palms,  cypress,  eucalyptus,  and  orange  trees 
were  to  be  found  within  a  radius  of  fifty  miles  of  the  Exposition  site. 

In  its  preliminary  planning  the  landscape  department  was  guided  by 
a  complete  schedule  of  operations.  We  knew,  of  course,  where  the  courts 
and  boulevards  and  gardens  would  be,  the  height  of  the  walls,  and  the 
effect  to  be  desired.  Many  conferences  were  held  with  the  distinguished 
members  of  the  Exposition  architectural  board.  I  recall  that  while  we 
were  formulating  our  plans  a  visitor  suggested  that  eucalyptus  trees 
thirty  feet  in  height  would  be  of  ample  size  to  offset  the  walls  of  the 
exhibit  palaces;  but  when  we  considered  the  relation  of  thirty-foot  trees 
to  the  facades,  which  were  to  be  sixty-five  feet  in  height,  it  was  readily 
perceived  that  these  growths  would  appear  small  and  out  of  proportion 
to  their  magnificent  backgrounds.  A  thirty-foot  tree  there  would  have 
indeed  appeared  inadequate. 

Thus  we  early  planned  to  transplant  huge  trees  and  start  their  growth 
well  before  the  opening  of  the  Exposition,  so  that  they  would  lend  an 
effect  of  permanency  and  long-established  growth  to  the  grounds.  As 
an  example  of  the  transplanting:  Some  of  the  trees  set  out  upon  the 
grounds  weighed  sixteen  tons;  some  of  the  eucalyptus  transplanted  were 
over  sixty  feet  in  height,  so  that  their  tops  came  even  with  the  cornice 
lines  of  the  palaces. 

Having  decided  upon  the  arrangement,  the  kind  of  trees,  plants,  and 
shrubs  that  we  thought  would  best  set  off  this  greatest  of  expositions, 
and  determined  where  each  was  to  be  located,  it  became  necessary  to 
ascertain  where  all  the  trees  and  shrubbery  could  be  obtained,  and  to 
inspect  those  near  at  hand.  All  had  to  be  especially  prepared  at  least 
a  year  before  they  were  moved  to  the  Exposition  grounds.  Many  of  the 
courts  or  palaces,  as,  for  example,  the  Palace  of  Fine  Arts,  demanded  a 
special  setting  to  complete  the  intent  of  the  architect.  Before  the  Palace 
of  Fine  Arts,  Mr.  Maybeck  desired  a  green  moss  effect,  an  old  rural  effect, 
as  though  the  structure,  built  centuries  ago,  stood  out  with  moss-covered 
walls,  the  accumulation  of  ages  of  growth.  To  obtain  this  effect  we  set 
out  before  the  rotunda  of  the  palace  hollow  boxes,  the  exteriors  of 
which  were  planted  with  mesambryanthemum  or  ice  plant,  a  native  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  This  gave  the  eff  ect  of  a  huge,  solid  hedge  of 
dimensions  which,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  would  have  required  years 
of  growth.  Incidentally,  eight  thousand  flat  boxes  of  ice  plant,  each  being 
two  by  six  feet,  were  used  in  building  the  hedge  which  partly  bounded 
the  Exposition  grounds  on  the  south.  The  plant  was  first  grown  in  the 
shallow  boxes  as  they  lay  upon  the  ground.  When  the  plant  had  obtained 
a  start,  the  boxes  were  put  into  place. 

A  different  treatment  was  required  for  each  of  the  plants  set  up  on 
the  grounds.  We  secured  our  bulbs  from  Holland,  azeleas  from  Japan, 
rhododendrons  from  Belgium,  palms  from  Niles,  California,  tree  ferns 
from  New  Zealand,  banana  plants  from  Central  America,  Cuban  palms 
and  Boyal  Creole  palms  from  Cuba.  But  the  decorative  plan  called  for 


CALIFORNIA'S  OPPORTUNITIES 


141 


a  far  wider  variety  of  growths.  Eucalyptus,  pine,  cypress,  and  flowering 
acacias  were  freely  used.  There  were  8000  rhododendrons,  3000  azeleas, 
750,000  bulbs,  400,000  pansies,  150,000  begonias,  25,000  salvias,  75,000 
viola  cornua,  4000  hydrangeas,  250  large  palms,  100  small  palms,  50 
araucarias,  100,000  geraniums,  50,000  myrtles,  about  60,000  veronicas, 
30,000  cistus,  150  orange  trees,  and  numerous  other  small  plants  and 
shrubs.  In  but  few  regions  in  the  world  would  we  have  had  the  rare 
opportunity  to  combine  so  great  a  variety  of  semi-tropical  and  temperate 
zone  plants  in  our  landscaping  scheme,  all  of  which  leads  us  to  the 
opinion  that  here  in  California  the  work  of  the  landscape  engineer  may 
be  employed  to  very  great  advantage.  And  with  growing  public  taste  for 
artistic  edifices,  public  buildings,  and  surroundings,  there  will  come  the 
greater  appreciation  of  the  important  part  which  landscaping  plays  in 
the  entire  scheme  of  arrangements. 

The  great  beds  of  flowers  in  gorgeous,  riotous  bloom  formed  a  fitting 
carpet  for  the  most  colorful  of  world's  expositions.  The  wonderful 
color  tones  selected  by  Jules  Guerin  had  their  counterpart  in  the  vast 
fields  of  color  that  Nature  had  made  possible.  In  planning  our  flower 
beds,  we  enjoyed  a  peculiar  advantage.  The  California  blossoming  sea- 
son is  long  and  we  were  enabled  to  change  our  flowering  plants  three 
times.  In  the  South  Gardens,  for  example,  a  color  scheme  of  rotation 
was  followed.  Pansies  and  daffodils  in  the  spring  were  followed  by 
gorgeous  beds  of  red  and  yellow  tulips,  and  the  final  planting  was  of 
begonia  erfordi,  a  beautiful  flowering  plant  with  blossoms  of  dainty 
shell  pink.  The  rotation  for  this  single  part  of  the  whole  landscape 
involved  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  plants. 

In  Mr.  Mullgardt's  Court  of  Ages,  pink  was  the  first  color,  the  next 
purple,  and  the  third  blue.  It  was  pleasing  to  early  visitors  to  view  this 
majestic  court  with  its  carpet  of  pink  hyacinths.  In  this  court  a  feature 
was  made  of  California  orange  trees,  transplanted  from  the  citrus  zone 
with  their  golden  globular  fruit  still  upon  them,  serving  as  a  wonderful 
and  colorful  ornamentation.  There  were  also  yews  and  formal  Italian 
cypress  trees,  and  a  lavish  profusion  of  spring  flowering  bulbs  and  semi- 
flowering  annuals,  adding  brightness  to  the  whole  effect. 

We  did  not  change  the  color  of  the  Court  of  Flowers  because  it  had 
been  decided  to  harmonize  the  floral  plan  throughout  the  Exposition 
period  with  the  dominant  color  tone  of  the  court.  Golden  yellow  flowers 
predominated  in  a  decorative  plan  distinguished  by  the  appearance  -of 
bright  colored  flowering  plants  of  many  species,  renowned  both  for 
beauty  and  form  of  blossom  as  well  as  of  color.  Azaleas  and  a  wonder- 
ful collection  of  heaths  were  also  used. 

In  the  Court  of  Four  Seasons,  an  evergreen  tree  treatment,  and  shrubs 
likewise,  prevailed.  Here  were  used  some  of  the  higher  types  of  acacias 
and  other  trees,  and  ample  color  was  given  by  the  free  use  of  specimen 
lasiandras,  while  water  lilies  motionlessly  swam  the  surface  of  the  pools. 

The  exceptional  magnitude  of  the  task  presented  upon  the  Exposition 
grounds  will  be  the  more  readily  comprehended  when  it  is  known  that 


142 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


the  great  areas  to  be  planted  were  composed  of  drifting  sands  largely 
pumped  in  from  San  Francisco  Bay,  upon  which  no  ornamental  plants 
might  cherish  a  hope  for  existence.  It  was  necessary  to  cover  the  entire 
planting  area  with  good  surface  soil  deep  enough  to  maintain  the 
infinite  variety  of  trees  and  garden  plants  which  in  their  full  growth 
were  beheld  by  the  Exposition  visitors.  For  this  reason  tons  of  rich 
loam  were  brought  down  upon  barges  from  the  Sacramento  River. 

One  could  go  into  infinite  detail  and  yet  not  tell  the  whole  story.  The 
general  landscape  design  of  the  Exposition  grounds  was  not  patterned 
after  any  other.  It  was  rather  a  treatment  designed  to  determine  the 
most  effective  way  to  handle  the  special  sections  in  different  sections 
of  the  area.  The  trees  and  shrubs  transplanted  in  their  full  grown  state 
took  to  root  without  adverse  struggle,  and  the  small  flowering  plants 
developed  with  amazing  swiftness.  In  the  blooming  beds,  by  a  scheme 
of  rotation,  flowering  blazes  of  color  were  as  a  general  rule  continued 
throughout  the  Exposition  period.  On  the  driveways,  as,  for  example, 
that  between  the  Palace  of  Machinery  on  one  side  and  the  Palace  of 
Varied  Industries  and  the  Palace  of  Mines  and  Metallurgy  on  the  other, 
the  buildings  were  cloaked  with  cypress  banked  up  with  Lawson  cypress 
and  Thuya  gigantea,  before  which  were  various  firs  and  spruces,  and 
individual  specimens  of  Spanish  fir.  Before  these  a  magnificent  blaze  of 
color  was  maintained.  During  the  opening  days  of  the  Exposition  the 
bright  red  azaleas  of  Japan  kept  that  stretch  of  earth  bright  and  were 
followed  by  a  bank  of  hybrid  rhododendrons  from  Europe,  relieved  by 
a  sprinkling  of  Japanese  lilies  of  various  kinds. 

The  south  driveway  was  planted  with  specimen  plants  of  Canary 
Island  date  palms  alternately  spaced  every  thirty  feet  by  California 
fan  palms.  Ivy  leaf  geraniums  and  passion  vines  planted  at  the  bases  of 
the  palms  ran  up  the  trunks  and  out  over  the  leaves,  drooping  their 
brilliant  flowers.  Flowering  acacias  set  off  by  beds  of  flowering  shrubs 
and  pansies,  flowering  perennials  and  dahlias,  Monterey  cypress,  yellow 
daffodils,  red  azaleas,  rhododendrons,  myrtle,  breath  of  heaven,  laven- 
der, lemon  verbena,  rosemary,  and  other  plants  and  shrubs  made  a 
paradise  pleasing  to  the  senses  and  harmonious  to  the  eye,  all  of  which 
reveals  to  us  that  Mother  Nature  in  California  has  given  the  landscape 
gardener  the  earth  for  his  canvas  and  the  flowers  of  the  world  for  his 
pigments.  And  as  the  public  more  and  more  demands  of  him  his  highest 
achievement,  so  he  will  paint  in  trees  and  flowers  the  story  of  Nature's 
artistry,  embellishing  and  enhancing  every  prospect  or  every  archi- 
tectural work. 


SCULPTURE  OF  THE  EXPOSITION 


FOUNTAIN  OF  THE  EARTH 
Plate  No.  301 


By  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek 


NORTH  AND  SOUTH  PANELS,  FOUNTAIN  OF  THE  EARTH  By  Robert  Aitken 


Plate  No.  302 


EAST  AND  WEST  PANELS,  FOUNTAIN  OF  EARTH  By  Robert  Aitken 

Photographed  by  Carclinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  303 


STAR  FIGURE,  COURT  OF  THE  UNIVERSE,  By  A.  Stirling  Calder 

AND  FORECOURT  OF  STARS 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  304 


THE  ADVENTUROUS  BOWMAN,  SURMOUNTING  By  Hermon  A.  MacNeil 

COLUMN  OK  PROGRESS 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  305 


FRIEZES  AT  BASE  OF  COLUMN  OF  PROGRESS  (south  side)  By  Isidore  Konti 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Plate  No.  306 


FRIEZES  AT  BASE  OF  COLUMN  OF  PROGRESS  By  Isidore  Konti 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  307 


THE  END  OF  THE  TRAIL,  AT  ENTRANCE  TO  COURT  OF  PALMS        By  James  Earl  Fbaskr 

Photographed  by  Willard  E.  Worden 
Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  308 


FOUNTAIN  OF  THE  SETTING  SUN,  COURT  OF  THE  UNIVERSE         By  Anoi.PH  A.  Weinman 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  309 


NATIONS  OF  THE  EAST,  NATIONS  OF  THE  WEST  By  A.  Stirling  Caldeb, 

SURMOUNTING  TRIUMPHAL  ARCHES  Leo  Lentelli,  and 

F.  G.  R.  Roth 


Plate  No.  313 


FOUNTAIN:  BEAUTY  AND  THE  BEAST 
Plate  No.  315 


By  Edgar  Walter 


THE  PRIEST,  TOWER  OF  JEWELS  By  John  Flanagan 

Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  3H 


ART  IS  PRAISE  AND  ALL  THINGS  IN  LIFE 
ARE  ITS  SUBJECTS 


By  A.  STIRLING  CALDER 


HE  PLASTIC  and  pictorial  decorations  of  a  great  world's  exposi- 


tion offers  an  unusual  opportunity  to  the  architect  and  the  sculptor. 


But  at  the  same  time  it  imposes  its  handicaps.  There  is  a  briefness 
of  time  and  a  brevity  of  resources  in  so  urgent  a  work  that  renders  it 
difficult  for  the  artist  to  rise  to  the  great  standard  of  performance 
desired.  And  yet  a  mighty  world's  exposition  offers  many  opportunities 
for  experiment,  invention,  and  originality,  with  the  only  limitations  the 
necessarily  formal  setting  of  the  architecture.  Sometimes,  alas,  the 
opportunities  thus  presented  are  out  of  proportion  to  the  initiative  of 
the  artists,  a  majority  of  whom  prefer,  either  from  inclination  or  neces- 
sity, to  take  the  safer  course,  the  beaten  path  of  precedent  in  preference 
to  the  execution  of  the  more  creative  work. 

Artists,  therefore,  are  of  two  classes :  the  imitators  and  the  innovators. 
The  public  also  is  of  two  corresponding  natures,  those  who  accept 
only  that  which  they  have  learned  to  regard  as  good,  preferring  imita- 
tions of  it  to  anything  requiring  the  acquisition  of  a  new  viewpoint, 
and  that  other  kind,  those  who  are  receptive  to  new  impulses.  The  first 
class  is  by  far  the  most  numerous,  a  fact  which  explains  why  most  of 
our  art,  and  indeed  most  of  all  art,  is  imitative;  that  is,  imitative  of  the 
works  of  other  artists. 

And  yet  at  the  Exposition  there  was  given  very  remarkable  evidence 
of  the  spirit  of  American  sculpture  at  the  present  time.  The  sculpture 
and  mural  paintings  adequately  represented  the  outcome  of  American 
art  today.  It  was  the  best  possible  collection  under  existing  conditions; 
it  revealed  the  ideals  of  sculptors  in  America  and  what  they  stand  for 
in  American  art. 

The  many  sources  of  inspiration  of  the  Exposition  sculptures,  all 
European,  as  is,  indeed,  the  source  of  our  racial  origin,  are  clothed  in 
outward  resemblances  of  the  styles  and  tinged  with  the  thought  of  the 
masters,  old  and  new,  whose  works  constitute  precedent.  Thus  in  sculp- 
ture we  have  imitations,  conscious  or  unconscious,  of  the  masters  and 
standards  of  the  past,  of  Michael  Angelo,  Donatello,  Rodin,  Berye, 
Meunier,  Saint  Gaudens,  and  others.  So,  too,  we  find  this  clinging  to 
the  standards  of  the  past  in  paintings,  although  the  influence  of  Merson, 
Monet,  and  others  whose  work  has  been  of  a  very  complex  personal 
nature  is  with  the  more  difficulty  perceived  in  the  works  of  our  painters. 
Yet  these  departures,  too,  are  related  in  the  main  to  established  ideals, 


146 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


and  their  points  of  difference  add  only  another  variation  in  character 
to  the  great  mass  of  works  expressive  of  human  ideals. 

As  in  nature  there  is  nothing  absolutely  pure,  nothing  that  can  exist 
totally  unrelated  to  the  whole,  so,  too,  it  is  in  art.  Works  of  art  should 
be  judged  not  by  their  absolute  adherence  to  any  so-called  standard,  but 
in  the  final  analysis  by  the  appeal  they  make  to  the  receptive  and 
unprejudiced  mind.  Be  brave,  Mr.  Critic,  Miss  Public;  think  for  your- 
selves at  the  risk  of  ridicule!  Be  not  ashamed  to  admire  what  appeals 
to  you  before  learning  its  author;  and  when  it  no  longer  appeals,  leave 
it  without  remorse.  Be  not  an  imitator  in  your  opinions  and  preferences. 
When  you  behold  a  work  of  art  which  carries  its  appeal  to  your  imag- 
ination, which  captivates  by  its  charm  or  stimulates  by  its  lofty  subject, 
ask  not  others  their  opinion,  but  for  your  own  satisfaction  analyse  the 
work  and  discover  what  your  final  verdict  will  be. 

To  an  extraordinary  degree  this  Exposition  disclosed  the  growing 
intimacy  between  sculpture  and  architecture,  and  in  its  completeness 
stood  as  a  monumental  example  of  the  resulting  beauty  in  total  effects 
due  to  this  happy  union  of  the  arts  for  the  fulfillment  of  a  mutual  ulti- 
mate purpose. 

From  the  beginning  the  general  architectural  scheme  to  be  carried  out 
by  the  structural  exterior  of  the  Exposition  was  that  of  a  cohesive  series 
of  Oriental  palaces;  in  reality  a  group  of  buildings  and  gardens,  yet 
conveying  the  sense  of  one  structure  in  design  and  effect.  It  is  in 
connection  with  this  group  of  buildings  that  the  sculpture  was  prin- 
cipally applied,  and  if  these  buildings  were  unique  in  their  escape  from 
isolation,  so  was  the  sculpture  unique  in  the  cohesive  design  which  it 
governed  as  a  whole. 

And  in  this  review  of  the  Exposition  sculpture,  it  is  unusually  fitting 
that  grateful  recognition  be  accorded  to  the  memory  of  that  sculptor 
whose  tireless  energy  and  abiding  faith  in  the  growth  of  American 
sculpture  first  launched  the  enterprise.  More  than  any  other  American 
sculptor,  he  possessed  that  breadth  of  vision  which  enabled  him  to 
discern  talent,  that  spirit  of  generosity  which  enabled  him  to  bestow 
praise  where  he  believed  it  due,  a  suppleness  of  mind  that  could  com- 
prehend new  concepts,  and  a  sense  of  justice  that  avoided  no  obligation. 
Such  an  unusual  combination  of  faculties  was  the  possession  of  Karl 
Bitter.  It  defined  a  man  broader  and  more  profound  than  his  broad 
achievements,  one  of  the  rare  personalities  in  our  art,  the  most  helpful 
exponent  that  sculpture  has  known  in  this  land.  It  was  he  who  lent  his 
monumental  ability  to  the  great  broad  design  for  the  sculpture  at  the 
Exposition.  In  the  initial  stages  of  planning,  his  fiery  initiative  and 
amazing  grasp  of  details  commanded  attention,  speedily  resulting  in 
the  first  general  plan  of  the  sculptures  for  the  buildings  and  grounds, 
while  later  his  tenacity  and  generosity  assured  the  completed  unity  of 
the  plan  for  that  splendid  assemblage  of  sculpture. 

Vitality  and  exuberance,  guided  by  a  distinct  sense  of  order,  were 
the  dominant  notes  of  the  arts  of  the  Exposition,  and  preeminently  of 


ART    IS  PRAISE 


147 


the  sculpture,  proclaiming  with  no  uncertain  voice  that  "all  is  right  with 
this  Western  World."  It  is  not  too  much  to  claim,  I  feel,  that  the  sculp- 
ture supplied  the  human  ideality,  the  love  for  the  beautiful  which  the 
Exposition  revealed  and  for  which  it  stood.  It  disclosed  the  daring, 
boastful,  masterful  spirit  of  enterprise  and  imagination,  the  frank  enjoy- 
ment of  physical  beauty  and  effort,  the  fascination  of  danger  as  well  as 
the  gentler,  more  reverent  of  our  attitudes  toward  that  mysterious 
problem,  life. 

One  of  the  strongest  influences  that  the  Exposition  sculpture  will  have 
will  undoubtedly  be  in  the  direction  of  a  new  impulse  to  inventive 
decoration.  There  were  in  all  forty-four  sculptors  who  contributed 
designs  for  which  the  subjects  were  assigned  in  seventy-five  items.  Some 
of  the  items  comprised  compositions  involving  a  score  of  figures  and  the 
number  of  replicas  used  as  completed  architectural  motifs  in  order  to 
create  that  effective  richness  which  was  called  for  by  the  styles  of  archi- 
tecture was  very  numerous.  The  field  of  inventive  decoration  in 
sculpture,  which  was  here  so  well  illustrated,  has  remained  relatively 
undeveloped,  partly  owing  to  our  fondness  for  the  portrait  idea,  a 
tendency,  however,  which  is  legitimate  and  not  unworthy.  Decorative 
sculpture  has  an  important  effect  upon  architecture.  Architecture,  which 
is  the  growth  of  a  selective  precedent,  must  be  continually  supplied  with 
new  impulses,  new  blood  to  re-energize,  re-humanize  its  inventions; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  all  such  new  impulses  must  be  trained  into  order 
with  architecture.  Sculpture,  to  enhance  architectural  work,  must  be 
brought  into  harmony  with  the  architecture  which  it  embellishes.  The 
idea  is  beginning  to  take  hold  in  America.  Within  the  last  few  years 
a  school  devoted  to  the  development  of  this  applied  sculpture,  as  it 
may  be  styled,  has  been  maintained  by  a  group  of  public-spirited  artists 
under  the  management  of  the  Society  of  the  Beaux  Arts  Architects  and 
the  National  Sculpture  Society  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Inventive  decoration  in  sculptures  was  well  shown  at  the  Exposition. 
Such  a  work  as  the  repeated  "Star  Goddess"  crowning  the  colonnades  of 
the  Court  of  the  Universe  amounts  to  a  definite  creation  of  a  new 
type  of  architectural  finial,  a  human  figure  conventionalized  to  become 
architecturally  static,  yet  not  so  devitalized  as  to  be  inert.  Based  upon 
the  less  classical  style  of  architecture,  the  finials  of  the  cloisters  of  the 
Court  of  Ages  had  a  correspondingly  related  purpose. 

Other  features  of  the  Court  of  the  Universe  well  illustrated  the  use 
of  inventive  decoration.  The  groups  of  "The  Nations  of  the  East"  and 
"The  Nations  of  the  West,"  to  be  seen  at  all  points  in  silhouette  against 
the  sky,  were  again  new  types  in  motif  and  composition  of  arch- 
crowning  groups.  Both  of  these  were  strikingly  successful  solutions  of 
problems  not  attempted  since  the  ancients  imposed  the  quadriga  form 
of  composition.  The  groups  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  nations  were 
first  of  all  made  possible  by  the  receptive  attitude  of  the  distinguished 
architects,  the  Messrs.  McKimm,  Mead  &  White,  which  proves  conclu- 
sively that  those  who  are  most  learned  in  the  various  forms  of  antique 


148 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


arts  are  the  most  capable  of  accepting  the  application  of  new  motifs,  of 
quickly  assimilating  genuine  contributions  to  the  growth  of  progressive 
art.  By  so  doing  they  lend  to  all  motifs  that  kingly  wealth  of  refined 
elegance  that  has  come  down  through  the  ages.  This  acceptance  in  itself 
is  fraught  with  much  encouragement  to  the  growing  school  of  sculpture 
that  aims  to  understand  the  principles  of  co-operation  and  to  weld  them 
to  an  ideal. 

The  co-operation  of  architect  and  sculptor  is  also  to  be  observed  in 
the  "Column  of  Progress,"  a  condition  which  was  made  possible  by 
the  instant  comprehension  of  the  architect,  W.  Symmes  Richardson. 
The  column  illustrates  the  new  use  for  an  ancient  motif,  the  type  of 
monument  which,  though  distinctly  architectural  in  mass,  has  been 
humanized  by  the  use  of  sculpture  embodying  a  modern  idea.  As  a  type 
of  sculptured  column  it  is  new  and  fills  architectural  requirements  so 
that  other  columns  of  the  same  or  kindred  types  will  be  designed. 

The  still  potent  charm  of  archaic  methods  applied  to  modern  uses 
is  well  illustrated  in  the  groups  of  "The  Dance"  and  of  "Music"  on  the 
terraces  of  the  Court  of  the  Universe.  Again  in  the  rotunda  of  the 
Palace  of  Fine  Arts  and  elsewhere,  this  tendency  crops  out,  and  always 
with  the  assurance  of  pleasing.  The  group  representing  "The  Genius  of 
Creation"  lent  a  modified  note  of  refinement  to  the  vigorous  western 
facade  of  the  Machinery  Palace,  against  which  it  was  outlined,  and 
added  much  of  interest  to  the  vistas  north  and  south  of  the  Avenue  of 
Progress,  and  on  the  avenue  east  of  the  Court  of  Ages. 

The  fountains  in  the  Court  of  the  Universe  were  examples  well 
illustrating  how  the  charm  of  sculpture  can  vitalize  architectural  con- 
ventions. The  crowning  figures  of  these  fountains,  representations  of 
the  Rising  and  Setting  Suns,  have  achieved  great  popularity. 

"The  Fountain  of  Energy"  and  the  "Fountain  of  Earth"  were  the 
two  original  fountain  compositions,  by  which  is  meant  that  while 
there  were  many  other  very  charming  fountains  on  the  grounds,  they 
were  distinctly  conceived  within  the  rules  of  precedent,  and  offered  no 
new  suggestion  of  type.  An  exposition  is  the  proper  place  to  offer  new 
types  and  designs  in  execution,  and  their  presence  is  a  healthy  sign  of 
growth. 

There  are  figures  and  reliefs  of  genuine  feeling  that  do  not  gain  by 
resemblances  to  the  manners  of  Rodin  and  Meunier;  that  is,  are  not  in 
harmony  with  the  surrounding  architecture.  The  original  figures  in 
the  south  portal  of  the  Palace  of  Varied  Industries  and  the  panel  over 
the  entrance  to  the  Palace  of  Liberal  Arts  are  quite  successful  inserts  of 
new  thought  in  old  frames,  in  spite  of  a  touch  of  this.  Rodin,  the  eman- 
cipator of  modern  sculpture,  a  notorious  anarchist  as  regards  archi- 
tecture, is  always  applicable,  but  the  imitation  of  his  style  induces  a 
negation  of  modelling  which  is  not  in  evidence  in  his  modes  of  execution. 

The  group  "Harvest"  surmounting  the  great  niche  in  the  Court  of 
the  Seasons  is  a  fine,  placid  thing,  and  the  bull  groups  on  the  pylons  are 
verily  time-honored  conceptions  strikingly  placed.   The  three-tiered 


ART    IS  PRAISE 


149 


sculpture  groupings  of  the  Tower  of  Ages  make  rich  appeal  when  their 
relation  to  Roman  architecture,  here  employed,  is  considered.  There 
were  groups  in  niches  in  the  western  wall  that  will  remain  caviar  to  the 
general  surroundings,  but  which  were  conceived  with  a  fine  sense  of 
decoration  and  needed  only  a  touch  of  relation  to  reconcile  them  to  the 
observer.  To  him  they  were  too  strange;  yet  strangeness,  if  sufficiently 
meditated  upon,  is  in  every  way  very  much  liked.  It  is  strange,  when 
you  think  of  it,  to  have  had  an  exposition. 

"The  End  of  the  Trail"  was  perhaps  the  most  popular  work  upon 
the  grounds;  the  symbolism  was  simple  and  reached  many  with  just  the 
right  note  of  sentiment.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  those  who  went 
beyond  the  obvious  and  preferred  less  realistic  suggestions,  particularly 
in  relation  to  architecture. 

"The  Pioneer"  was  not  well  understood.  The  trappings  here  puzzled 
the  realists,  who  insisted  upon  a  portrait  of  a  personage,  Joaquin  Miller. 
The  sculptor,  I  know,  intended  nothing  of  the  sort.  This  is  his  vision  of 
an  aged  pioneer  living  over  again  for  a  moment  his  life.  Astride  his 
ancient  pony,  hung  with  chance  trappings,  symbols  of  association,  with 
ax  and  rifle  with  which  he  conquered  the  wilderness,  he  broods  the  past. 

In  this  brief  review  justice  can  not  be  done  to  all  that  earnest,  honest, 
hopeful  effort  of  the  world-loving  artist  who  delights  in  the  myriad 
phases  of  our  lovely-terrible  life,  who  naively  labors  to  bring  forth  his 
sonnet  of  praise.  To  him  be  kind,  all  you  who  contemplate,  and  remem- 
ber that  it  is  easier  to  criticize  than  to  be  intelligently  sympathetic.  It 
is  all  for  you.  Take  what  you  like  and  leave  the  rest;  it  may  serve  other 
men  and  moods. 


ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  PANAMA-PACIFIC 
INTERNATIONAL  EXPOSITION 


By  LOUIS  CHRISTIAN  MULLGARDT 

THE  PANAMA-PACIFIC  INTERNATIONAL  EXPOSITION  is  largely 
distinctive  because  of  its  court  plan.  Eight  palaces  seemingly  con- 
stitute a  single  structure  containing  five  distinct  courts. 
This  group  of  buildings  consists  of  the  Palaces  of  Education,  Food 
Products,  Agriculture,  Liberal  Arts,  Manufactures,  Transportation,  Mines 
and  Varied  Industries.  It  is  terminated  east  and  west  by  Machinery  Hall 
and  the  Palace  of  Fine  Arts.  To  the  south  of  this  group,  and  on  the 
lateral  axis  of  the  two  end  courts,  are  the  Palaces  of  Horticulture  and 
Festival  Hall. 

This  group  of  eight  buildings  and  the  Tower  of  Jewels,  including  Fes- 
tival Hall,  the  Palace  of  Horticulture,  and  the  Palace  of  Fine  Arts,  con- 
stitute the  main  structures  of  the  Exposition.  The  buildings  and  gardens 
of  foreign  countries  and  states  of  the  Union  adjoin,  at  their  western 
termination,  the  thirteen  main  structures  erected  by  the  Exposition 
Company.  Still  further  west  are  the  live  stock  barns  and  poultry  houses. 
The  aviation,  military,  and  polo  fields,  including  the  race  course,  occupy 
the  extreme  end  of  the  site. 

The  amusement  section  called  "The  Zone"  extends  for  a  distance  of 
seven  city  blocks  eastward  from  the  main  group. 

THE  SITE 

The  final  selection  of  this  elongated  Exposition  site  was  only  deter- 
mined after  a  factional  community  of  energetic  citizens  had  voiced  their 
varying  preferences  for  one  or  the  other  of  five  or  six  sites  advocated. 
For  the  purpose  of  making  progress  by  amicable  arrangement  between 
contending  advocates,  it  was  finally  proposed  to  construct  portions  of 
the  Fair  at  Harbor  View,  Lincoln  Park,  and  Golden  Gate  Park  and  con- 
necting these  sub-divisions  by  highways  and  rail. 

When  preliminary  planning  of  the  Exposition  was  begun,  it  became 
evident  that  such  an  arrangement  would  be  exceedingly  expensive  and 
unsatisfactory,  and  it  was  therefore  abandoned. 

Over  six  hundred  acres  were  obtainable  in  the  Harbor  View  site,  which 
was  sufficient  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  most  modern  Exposition;  con- 
sequently, Golden  Gate  and  Lincoln  Parks  were  left  undisturbed  and  are 
today  intact  and  beautiful.  In  addition,  San  Francisco  has  established  a 
surpassing  glory  of  Exposition  buildings  and  parks  on  a  tract  of  barren 
land,  which  will  forever  reflect  credit  to  the  intelligence  of  this  commu- 


152 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


nity.  All  plans  have  been  constructive  and  not  destructive.  Nothing  of 
value  has  been  sacrificed  to  make  place  for  something  else. 

The  Columbian  Exposition  at  Chicago  was  judiciously  placed  on  unde- 
veloped sand  dunes  bordering  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  adjacent  to 
Jackson  Park,  which  became  part  of  that  Public  Garden  when  that  Expo- 
sition disappeared. 

The  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  at  St.  Louis  was  located  in  Forest 
Park,  where  hundreds  of  acres  were  cleared  of  magnificent  forest  trees 
and  gardens  to  provide  adequate  space  for  Exposition  structures  and 
gardens. 

San  Francisco's  Harbor  View  site,  so  wisely  selected  by  careful  process 
of  broad  and  liberal  consideration  and  process  of  gradual  elimination, 
constitutes  one  of  the  most  creditable  elements  in  the  success  of  the 
entire  Exposition  accomplishment.  The  unprecedented  varying  oppor- 
tunities whereby  this  Exposition  may  be  viewed  from  ships  on  San 
Francisco  Bay  and  from  hills  and  mountains  opposite,  from  the  forests 
of  the  Presidio  and  from  the  heights  of  the  city,  make  this  site  pro- 
nouncedly the  most  ideal  which  has  ever  been  dedicated  to  any  Exposi- 
tion, large  or  small. 

Harbor  View  site  consisted  largely  of  a  salt  water  inlet  separated  from 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  by  a  sea-wall.  This  inlet  was  filled  by  means 
of  pumping  dredgers  which  obtained  their  material  from  the  bottom  of 
the  bay.  This  engineering  work  was  in  progress  for  several  months, 
during  which  time  the  architects  and  engineers  of  the  Exposition  were 
engaged  in  preparing  drawings  and  specifications  for  structures,  road- 
ways, and  gardens. 

A  block  plan  was  prepared,  giving  general  dimensions  of  the  entire 
layout,  to  govern  the  architects  in  making  preliminary  studies  for  their 
part  of  the  entire  work.  These  studies  were  presented  for  consideration 
and  approval  of  the  Architectural  Commission  at  the  second  general 
conference  which  took  place  in  August,  1912.  The  results  of  this  second 
conference  were  then  reported  to  the  Board  of  Directors  for  adoption. 

The  third  conference  of  the  Architectural  Commission  took  place  in 
December,  1912,  when  further  developments  of  preliminary  drawings 
were  submitted  for  final  adoption.  This  last  general  conference  of  the 
architects  established  the  designs  which  were  finally  adopted  by  the 
directors,  and  the  architects  then  proceeded  with  working  drawings. 

Filling  and  grading  of  the  site  were  immediately  begun.  Structural 
walls,  roofs,  and  interior  supports  were  designed  by  the  Engineering 
Department.  Pile  foundations  and  drainage  were  provided,  and  the 
premises  cleared  of  shacks  and  other  rubbish  to  make  space  for  the 
Exposition. 

Three  important  elements  in  the  design  of  the  Exposition  are  repre- 
sented by  planting,  sculpture,  color  and  decoration.  The  chiefs  of  these 
departments  were  selected  by  the  Architectural  Commission  at  its  second 
conference,  August,  1912.  The  chiefs  of  these  three  departments  attended 
the  architects'  conferences  and  collaborated  in  their  deliberations. 


ARCHITECTURE    OF    THE  EXPOSITION 


153 


TRAVERTINE  PLASTER 

Another  important  element  was  represented  by  texture,  consisting  of  a 
manipulation  of  colored  plastic  materials  to  give  surface  expression  to 
buildings  and  sculpture. 

Color  applied  to  plastic  architecture  had  been  extensively  used  in  the 
construction  of  the  Pan-American  Exposition  at  Buffalo,  in  1900.  No 
progressive  step  equals  the  importance  of  texture  and  innate  color  of 
plaster,  which  has  given  such  added  quality  and  great  charm  to  certain 
parts  of  the  Exposition. 

The  Division  of  Works  of  an  Exposition  is  intended  to  be  a  sort  of 
clearing-house  in  coordinating  all  the  physical  essentials,  so  that  they 
come  into  place  in  good  time  and  proper  order,  and  that  economy  and 
speed  are  served  to  best  advantage.  It  secures  surveys,  grades,  and  levels; 
locates  streets,  building  lines,  walks,  and  gardens.  It  establishes  con- 
tracts for  filling,  grading,  piling  foundations,  sewers,  and  drains,  railway 
tracks  for  delivery  of  building  materials,  ferry  slips  and  piers,  including 
temporary  inclosures  and  workshops  where  sculptors  and  modelers  of 
architectural  detail  do  their  work. 

Separate  contracts  were  entered  into  for  nearly  everything  which 
could  have  been  separately  contracted  for.  The  Exposition  Company 
assumed  the  first  hand  purchase  of  all  lumber  for  construction  purposes; 
also  the  purchase  of  raw  materials  for  plaster,  shipped  direct  to  the 
Exposition  grounds  by  rail  and  water  from  forests  and  mills  and  sold 
direct  to  contractors,  thereby  avoiding  construction  delays. 

All  previous  Expositions  were  found  incomplete  on  the  opening  date. 
It  had  been  determined  that  this  Exposition  should  be  complete  on  the 
opening  date,  February  20, 1915. 

A  special  tunnel  had  been  constructed  at  the  east  end  under  Fort 
Mason  to  permit  freight  cars  being  shunted  on  an  elaborate  system  of 
tracks  alongside  and  into  the  palaces,  making  it  possible  to  carry  all 
building  materials  and  exhibits  to  points  nearest  their  final  location. 

ROADWAYS 

Temporary  plank  roadways  were  built  throughout  the  Exposition 
grounds  for  heavy  hauling.  These  were  removed  as  fast  as  permanent 
roadways  could  be  built  toward  the  time  of  completion  of  all  structures. 
The  final  roadways  and  walks  were  built  of  broken  stone  and  gravel, 
having  an  asphaltum  top  surface. 

FIRE  DEPARTMENT 

An  independent  fire-fighting  system  was  established  on  the  premises 
when  sufficient  inflammable  material  had  been  delivered  on  the  ground 
to  make  it  necessary.  Temporary  inclosures  for  fire-fighting  machinery 
on  wheels  were  first  built;  subsequently  palatial  engine  houses  were 
erected,  housing  four  separate  companies.  The  entire  Exposition  is 
amply  provided  with  fire-signal  stations  in  all  parts  of  the  grounds  and 


154 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


buildings.  In  addition  thereto,  independent  standpipes  with  hose  con- 
nections are  distributed  everywhere,  furnishing  high  pressure  service 
for  immediate  local  needs  wherever  a  fire  may  originate. 

TELEPHONES 

An  elaborate  network  of  telephone  wires  extends  over  the  entire  Expo- 
sition grounds  to  offices,  exhibition  buildings,  booths,  and  public  stations, 
together  having  a  central  distributing  point  as  elaborate  and  complete  as 
that  of  a  large  independent  city. 

PASSENGER  SERVICE 

Ferry  slips  for  quick  over-water  conveyance  of  visitors  to  and  from 
across  the  bay  points  were  established  near  the  government  docks, 
including  a  Ferry  Station  of  large  proportion,  back  of  a  dignified  Greek 
Doric  exterior.  An  adequate  network  of  electric  street  car  tracks  was 
especially  provided  by  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  delivering  passengers 
to  the  Exposition  gates  at  every  desirable  point  from  all  parts  of  the  city. 
The  centralized  location  of  the  Exposition  made  it  possible  to  divert 
every  branch  of  the  old  established  street  railway  system  to  new  branch 
lines  leading  directly  into  the  several  loops  adjoining  the  Exposition 
gates.  These  loops  afford  all  cars  continuous  travel  in  both  directions. 

ILLUMINATING 

The  electric  lighting  wires  are  concealed  underground,  similar  to  the 
telephone  wires,  leaving  the  sky  unobstructed  by  wires  or  cables  strung 
from  post  to  post,  as  is  customarily  true  in  our  towns  and  cities. 

The  illumination  of  the  Exposition  is  largely  done  by  batteries  of  scin- 
tillators concealed  on  roofs  and  other  points  of  vantage.  Rows  of  elec- 
tric standards  with  screened  arc  lights  are  placed  in  decorative  order, 
to  cast  illuminating  rays  where  required  without  subjecting  the  eyes  of 
the  public  to  direct  glare  of  innumerable  and  varying  sources  of  artifi- 
cial light. 

THE  MARINA 

The  north  side  of  the  main  group  is  flanked  by  a  greensward  which 
skirts  the  bay.  This  enormous  green  carpet  is  bordered  by  walks  and 
roadways.  It  affords  excellent  opportunity  for  thousands  of  people  to 
view  special  attractions  offered  daily  along  the  water-front.  War  ves- 
sels and  pleasure  crafts  are  just  beyond  the  low  Marina  wall.  A  splendid 
broadside  view  is  here  obtainable  of  the  entire  length  of  the  north  facade 
of  the  Exposition  palaces,  including  vistas  into  the  several  courts  which 
open  on  the  Marina.  An  uninterrupted  view  of  the  bay  and  its  northern 
coast  line  of  hills  and  mountains,  extending  from  Golden  Gate,  west  to 
east,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  is  here  obtained  under  most  favorable 
conditions. 


ARCHITECTURE    OF    THE  EXPOSITION 


155 


THE  SOUTH  GARDENS 

Flanking  the  south  side  of  the  main  group  is  the  Avenue  of  Palms, 
which  appears  to  have  existed  always.  It  was  established  as  part  of  the 
most  colossal  system  of  successful  transplanting  which  has  ever  been 
undertaken  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  South  Gardens  adjoin  the 
Avenue  of  Palms  and  extend  to  the  Exposition  inclosure  along  the  south 
line,  where  a  wall  fifty  feet  high  and  ten  feet  wide  has  been  erected  of 
trayed  solid  green  moss-like  growth  studded  with  myriads  of  tiny  pink 
star-like  blossoms.  This  great  wall  is  perforated  by  simple  arched 
masonry  entrances  leading  through  a  richly  planted  foreground  formed 
by  the  South  Gardens. 

Basins  of  reflecting  blue  waters  extend  to  the  right  and  left  of  a  central 
fountain  of  colossal  proportions,  the  basins  themselves  being  punctuated 
at  their  east  and  west  ends  by  fountains  of  subordinate  size,  back  of 
which  are  Festival  Hall  to  the  right  and  the  Palace  of  Horticulture  to  the 
left  as  we  enter  the  green  wall  portals  from  the  city  of  San  Francisco 
beyond. 

To  the  south  and  west  of  the  foreign  countries,  state  buildings,  and 
gardens,  a  graceful  contour  of  hills  extends  sloping  by  to  Golden  Gate, 
having  a  coxcomb  of  pine  and  eucalyptus.  Broad  vistas  of  city,  forests, 
water,  hills,  and  mountains  present  themselves  on  every  line  of  the 
compass.  Gray,  green,  blue,  and  lavender  vistas  come  into  view  through 
portal,  colonnade,  and  arch. 

THE  PALACE  OF  FINE  ARTS 

This  impressive  unit  faces  the  Bising  Sun,  with  its  colorful  facade. 
The  plan  of  this  composite  structure  suggests  the  Star  and  Crescent  of 
Mohammed.  The  architecture  shows  a  free  interpretation  of  early 
Boman  forms.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  purely  romantic  conception  by  Architect 
Maybeck,  entirely  free  from  traditional  worship  or  obedience  to  scho- 
lastic precedent.  Its  greatest  charm  has  been  established  through  suc- 
cessful composition.  The  architectural  elements  have  been  arranged 
into  a  colossal  theme  of  exceptional  harmony,  into  which  the  interwoven 
planting  and  mirror  lake  have  been  incorporated  in  a  masterly  way. 
The  entire  composition  bespeaks  the  mind  of  an  imaginative  romanti- 
cist, whose  productions  are  swayed  more  by  nature's  glories  than  by 
scholastic  tradition. 

THE  PALACE  OF  HORTICULTURE 

The  architecture  of  this  building  so  clearly  expresses  its  purpose  that 
a  definition  of  style  promptly  suggests  the  title  of  horticultural  architec- 
ture. Its  decorative  spire-like  finials  are  like  the  cypress  and  poplar. 
The  clusters  of  floral  decorations  and  festoons  reflect  one  of  the  funda- 
mental purposes  of  decorative  glory  to  which  all  plant  life  has  been 
decreed.  The  bulb-like  glass  dome  is  like  an  enormous  dewdrop  of 
beautiful  proportion,  and  iridescent  in  color.   All  this  beauty  was 


156 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


conceived  by  Architects  Bakewell  and  Brown,  who  have  given  full  evi- 
dence of  their  appreciation  of  the  purposes  to  which  this  palace  was 
assigned. 

FESTIVAL  HALL 

This  structure  counterbalances  the  Palace  of  Horticulture  at  the  east 
end  of  the  South  Gardens.  Mr.  Farquhar's  interpretation  of  Italian 
Renaissance  in  this  interesting  structure  is  replete  with  charming  detail; 
it  is  truly  expressive  of  its  festival  purposes.  It  is  seen  to  best  advantage 
when  reflected  in  the  South  Garden  pool  from  the  circle  surrounding  the 
Fountain  of  Energy,  and  from  the  Court  of  Flowers. 

THE  PALACE  OF  MACHINERY 

This  colossal  structure  of  Roman  type  was  designed  by  Architects 
Ward  and  Blohme.  It  dignifies  the  east  end  of  the  main  composition  in  a 
most  impressive  manner.  Its  general  character  is  similar  to  the  Roman 
baths  of  Caracalla.  The  vestibules  are  particularly  impressive  when 
viewed  longitudinally.  The  interior  Roman  vaulting  formed  by  myriad 
trusses  is  similarly  impressive  in  form  and  scale  to  the  interiors  of 
renouned  existing  Basilicas.  The  surrounding  tree,  shrub,  and  flower 
planting  along  the  simple  outer  walls  is  rhythmically  consistent  with  the 
Roman  niches  and  entrances  and  lends  added  charm  to  the  dignity  of 
this  tremendous  structure.  The  cornices  are  especially  noteworthy  in 
their  detail,  scale,  and  proportion. 

OUTER  WALLS  OF  THE  GROUP  OF  EIGHT 

The  impressive  simplicity  of  the  outer  walls  is  enhanced  by  a  succes- 
sion and  variety  of  portals,  niches,  and  arcades  of  Spanish  and  Italian 
origin  of  renouned  beauty.  The  simple  dignity  of  the  plain  travertine 
wall  surfaces  is  surmounted  by  tile-covered  cornices  and  terminated  by 
pavilions.  A  rich  foreground  of  rhythmic  planting  of  trees,  shrubbery, 
and  flowers,  emphasizes  the  intent  of  unity  of  these  eight  palaces,  the 
corporate  purpose  of  which  has  been  so  successfully  interpreted  by 
Architects  Bliss  and  Faville. 

DOMES 

The  typical  domes  surmounting  the  eight  palaces  also  express  simi- 
larity of  purpose  for  which  these  palaces  are  intended.  In  depicting  the 
industrial  arts,  these  palaces  lend  an  oriental  expression  to  the  entire 
composition,  consistent  with  the  citadel  character  of  the  general  scheme. 
The  banner  poles  with  their  oriental  streamers  and  the  illuminating 
standards  set  in  the  foreground  planting  of  the  outer  walls,  lend  a  con- 
sistent festive  character  to  these  long  facades. 

TOWER  OF  JEWELS 

The  appellation  "Of  Jewels"  became  an  addition  to  the  original  title, 
after  the  Tower  became  thus  gorgeously  arrayed.  The  Tower  was  con- 
templated in  conjunction  with  the  main  group,  as  clue  to  the  composi- 
tion, and  as  of  vital  importance  to  the  general  plan.  Its  composite 
architecture  can  best  be  defined  as  of  white  and  yellow  race  derivation. 


ARCHITECTURE    OF    THE  EXPOSITION 


157 


It  clearly  indicates  a  mingling  of  architectural  characteristics  of  the 
entire  world's  people  as  the  architects,  Carrere  and  Hastings,  probably 
intended.  It  gives  definite  expression  of  the  international  purposes  for 
which  this  Exposition  is  designed.  The  jewel  enrichments  add  effec- 
tively to  its  oriental  regal  display.  The  Tower  constitutes  an  indispen- 
sable integral  to  the  unit  composition.  It  appears  to  best  advantage 
under  the  mysterious  effects  produced  by  Mr.  Ryan's  night  illumination. 

THE  COURT  OF  FOUR  SEASONS 

This  dignified,  restful  court  of  Roman  classic  character,  designed  by 
Architect  Henry  Racon,  expresses  the  season  theme  perfectly.  The 
alcoves,  which  symbolize  the  Four  Seasons,  are  admirably  conceived  in 
their  relation  to  the  entire  composition.  The  colonnades'  arched  side 
approaches  and  the  colossal  Roman  niche  at  the  south  end  together 
alone  form  a  glorious  composition  which  has  been  greatly  enhanced  by 
the  arrangement  of  planting  as  planned  by  Mr.  Racon. 

COURT  OF  THE  UNIVERSE 

This  colossal  place  of  oval  form,  including  the  Avenue  stretching  to 
the  Marina,  is  fundamentally  Roman  in  architectural  character,  the 
style  being  largely  attributable  to  its  splendid  colonnade  and  triumphal 
arches.  Its  architectural  style  is  also  sympathetic  to  the  orient  of  the 
Far  East  along  the  Mediterranean,  owing  to  its  domed  pavilions.  The 
oval  sunken  garden  is  thickly  planted  with  hydrangeas  which  constitute 
one  of  the  most  gorgeous  displays  at  the  Exposition.  The  Tower  of 
Jewels  and  the  Column  of  Progress  at  the  north  and  south  ends  of  this 
wonderful  court  serve  as  integrals.  McKim,  Mead,  and  White  are  archi- 
tects of  this  most  important  of  all  the  courts. 

COURTS  OF  FLOWERS  AND  PALMS 

These  two  delightful  courts,  designed  by  Architect  George  W.  Kelham, 
are  like  great  alcoves  in  the  south  wall  of  the  main  group.  The  Court 
of  Flowers  faces  Festival  Hall,  whereas  the  Court  of  Palms  faces  the 
Palace  of  Horticulture.  Each  court  is  flanked  at  its  outer  angles  by 
towers,  which  form  an  indispensable  element  in  the  South  Facade  and 
the  courts  themselves.  The  general  style  is  Italian  Renaissance,  sug- 
gestive in  detail  of  these  courts'  symbolic  intent  in  form  of  decoration 
and  planting.  These  courts  form  an  important  element  in  the  South 
Facade  of  the  main  group. 

THE  COURT  OF  THE  AGES— A  SERMON  IN  STONE 

The  Court  of  the  Ages  is  340  feet  square.  The  surrounding  walls  are 
seventy-five  feet  high.  The  Tower  is  200  feet  high.  The  floor  of  the 
Court  declines  to  the  central  basin,  affording  the  observer  a  full  view  of 
the  surroundings.  The  arcaded  and  vaulted  ambulatory  extends  contin- 
uously around  the  four  sides.  The  floor  of  this  ambulatory  is  elevated 
above  the  upper  floor  level  of  the  Court  for  the  convenience  of  observers. 
Its  architecture  has  not  been  accredited  to  any  established  style. 


158 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


The  Court  is  an  historical  expression  of  the  successive  ages  of  the 
world's  growth.  The  central  fountain  symbolizes  the  nebulous  world 
with  its  innate  human  passions.  Out  of  a  chaotic  condition  came  water 
(the  basin),  and  land  (the  fountain),  and  light  (the  sun  supported  by 
Helios,  and  the  electroliers.)  The  braziers  and  cauldrons  symbolize 
fire.  The  floor  of  the  Court  is  covered  with  verdure,  trees,  flowers,  and 
fruits.  The  two  sentinel  columns  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  Tower 
symbolize  earth  and  air.  The  eight  paintings  in  the  four  corners  of  the 
ambulatory  symbolize  the  elements  of  Earth,  Air,  Fire,  and  Water.  The 
central  figure  in  the  north  avenue  symbolizes  "Modern  time  listening  to 
the  story  of  the  ages." 

The  decorative  motifs  employed  on  the  surrounding  arcade  are  sea 
plant  life  and  its  animal  evolution.  The  piers,  arches,  reeds,  and  columns 
bear  legendary  decorative  motifs  of  the  transitional  plant  to  animal  life 
in  the  forms  of  tortoise  and  other  shell  motifs;  kelp  and  its  analogy  to 
prehistoric  lobster,  skate,  crab,  and  sea  urchin.  The  water-bubble  motif 
is  carried  through  all  vertical  members  which  symbolize  the  Crustacean 
Period,  which  is  the  second  stratum  of  the  Court. 

The  third  stratum,  the  prehistoric  figures,  surmounting  the  piers  of 
the  arcade,  also  the  first  group  over  the  Tower  entrance,  show  earliest 
forms  of  human,  animal,  reptile,  and  bird  life,  symbolizing  the  Stone 
Age  Period. 

The  fourth  stratum,  the  second  group  in  the  Altar  Tower,  symbolizes 
human  struggle  for  emancipation  from  ignorance  and  superstition  in 
which  religion  and  war  are  dominating  factors.  The  kneeling  figures  on 
the  side  altar  are  similarly  expressive.  The  torches  above  these 
mediaeval  groups  symbolize  the  dawn  of  understanding.  The  Chanti- 
cleers on  the  finials  surrounding  the  Court  symbolize  the  Christian  era. 
The  topmost  figure  of  the  altar  symbolizes  intelligence,  "Peace  on  earth, 
good  will  toward  all" — the  symbols  of  learning  and  industry  at  her  feet. 
The  topmost  figure  surmounting  the  side  altar  symbolizes  thought. 

The  arched  opening  forming  the  inclosure  of  the  altar  contains  alter- 
nating masks  expressing  intelligence  and  ignorance,  symbolizing  the 
peoples  of  the  world. 

A  gradual  development  to  the  higher  forms  of  plant  life  is  expressed 
upward  in  the  Altar  Tower,  the  conventionalized  Lily  Petal  being  the 
highest  form. 

Over  six  hundred  acres  are  comprised  in  the  elongated  site  on  which 
the  Exposition  stands.  Millions  of  people  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
have  made  pilgrimage  to  this  realm  of  phantasy,  and  many  thousands 
more  are  on  their  way,  determined  to  bask  in  the  radiance  of  good  will 
toward  all  mankind,  which  this  mecca  of  peace,  enlightenment,  beauty, 
and  inspiration  for  a  better  and  greater  future  gives  forth.  Its  pur- 
poseful influence  is  destined  to  perpetually  serve  a  beneficent  cause  in 
the  furtherance  of  unified  international  humanitarianism  after  the 
ephemeral  vision  of  this  phantom  kingdom  has  vanished. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  STUDIES  OF  THE 
EXPOSITION 


ROTUNDA:  PALACE  OF  FINE  ARTS  Photographed  by  Dr.  Emu.  O.  Jellinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Southeast  view 

Note  how  swans  suggest  atmosphere 


Plate  No.  317 


VISTA:  COLONNADE 

A  sympathetic  setting  for  the  Muse 

Plate  No.  318 


Photographed  by  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek 
Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


CENTRAL  DOME  OF  THE  PALACE  OF  FIXE  ARTS  Photographed  by  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek 

"Priestess  of  Culture"  surmounting  column.  The  serenity  and  intel- 
lectual beauty  of  this  controlled  angelic  figure  well  express  the  mission 
of  culture  upon  the  earth 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Plate  No.  319 


ROTUNDA:  MAIN  ARCH 
Palace  of  Fine  Arts 


Photographed  by  Dr.  Emii.  O.  Jellinek 
Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


This  main  arch  is  the  gem  of  the  Dome  and  the  central  point.  The 
altar  expresses  the  lowest  note  of  sentiment  in  the  composition.  See  text 
by  B.  R.  Maybeck 

Plate  No.  320 


PORTION  OF  CRESCENT:  COLONNADE  Photographed  by  Dr.  Emu.  O.  Jellinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Palace  of  Fine  Arts 

Low  columns  are  Doric  proportions,  the  tall  are  Corinthian.  Parapet 
in  background  suggests  floor  beyond.   Refer  to  text  by  B.  R.  Maybeck 


Plate  No.  321 


VISTA:  ROTUNDA  Photographed  by  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Palace  of  Fine  Arts 
Seen  from  the  Crescent 


Plate  No.  322 


r 


ROTUNDA  AND  HEDGE  Photographed  by  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Palace  of  Fine  Arts 

Observe  massive  proportions  by  noting  figures  near  tree.  Refer  to  text 
by  B.  R.  MagbecU 


Plate  No.  323 


VISTA :  COLONNADE  Photographed  by  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Palace  of  Fine  Arts 

Entrance  court  to  the  Crescent,  as  seen  from  Rotunda 


Plate  No.  324 


AN  ARCHWAY  OF  THE  ROTUNDA  Photographed  by  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Palace  of  Fine  Arts 

Note  the  high  proportions 


Plate  No.  326 


CENTRAL  DOME — PALACE  OF  FINE  ARTS 
Plato  No.  .-i27 


Photographed  by  Dr.  Emit.  O.  Jbllinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


THE  TOWER  OF  AGES  Photographed  bu  Dn.  Emil  O.  Jellinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Court  of  Abundance 

Note  originality  of  grouping  of  lower  sculpture 


Plate  No.  328 


COURT  OF  PALMS  AND  SUNKEN  POOL  Photographed  by  Dr.  Emu  O.  Jellinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  329 


VISTA:  COURT  OF  ABUNDANCE 


Photographed  by  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jeixinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 


Plate  No.  330 


SOUTH  PORTAL:  PALACE  OF  LIBERAL  ARTS  Photographed  by  Dr.  Emu.  O.  Jellinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  C'ardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Spanish  Renaissance  style 

"The  Useful  Arts"  represented  by  frieze  over  doorway  and  figures  in 
niches  on  each  side,  by  Mahoiiri  Young 


Plate  No.  331 


SECTION  OF  INNER  DOME  Photographed  by  Dr.  Emil  O.  Jellinek 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  Cardinell  Vincent  Co. 

Palace  of  Fine  Arts 

Showing  Caisson  right.   Section  in  reality  is  distorted  as  in  Pantheon 
of  Rome.  See  text  by  Bernard  ft.  May  beck 


Plate  No.  332 


ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  PALACE  OF  FINE 
ARTS  AT  THE  PANAMA-PACIFIC  INTER- 
NATIONAL EXPOSITION 


By  BERNARD  R.  MAYBECK 


T 


|HE  ARCHITECTURAL  COMPOSITION  of  any  building  is  devel- 
oped in  its  plans,  its  elevations,  and  its  sections. 

The  plan  of  the  Fine  Arts  Building  (Number  1)  with  the  lagoon 
formed  the  top  of  a  general  ground  plan  of  the  grounds  and  the  Panama- 
Pacific  International  Exposition  palaces.  The  lagoon  was  made  irregu- 
lar to  give  it  what  is  called  the  romantic,  i.  e.  a  revival  of  Gothic  ideals. 

The  role  that  this  plays  in  connection  with  the 
classic  need  not  be  discussed  now.  The  main  pal- 
ace, I  suppose,  should  have  been  elliptic  in  plan. 
(Figure  2.)  In  order  to  bring  the  entrance  col- 
umns parallel  with  the  facades  of  the  palaces  of 
Education  and  Food  Products,  A  B  and  C  D  would 
be  in  a  straight  line.  But  Figure  1  was  used  because 
the  iron  construction  was  much  simpler,  less  costly 
than  if  we  had  used  Figure  2.  Although  Figure  1 
is  an  unusual  method  of  planning,  it  nevertheless 
worked  out  well  because  the  Danish  Building  and 
the  Japanese  garden  were  so  irregular  that  a 
square  ending  would  have  "queered"  the  rest  of 
?|the  composition  at  the  south  end.  In  the  conver- 
gence of  A  B  and  C  D,  Figure  1  proved  to  be  satis- 
2  factory.  The  perspective  obtained  from  a  view  of 
"  the  south  entrance  well  illustrates  this. 

The  method  of  planning  that  was  adopted  is 
illustrated  in  the  plan  of  rotunda  (Figure  3) .  When 
the  plan  of  the  walls  of  the  building  is  blacked  in 
on  paper,  the  picture  thus  made  is  agreeable  to 
the  eye.  To  get  this  result  in  the  Fine  Arts  plan, 
the  shrubs  were  used  to  fill  the  vacancies  that  usually  are  filled  out  with 

NO.  2 


1 

§  o 

h  |  17 

.  o 

c  O 

o 

2 lyi  '■ 

r-  L_ 

CD 

m 

X 

>  9 

c 

%  > 

» 

Ci 

AL/ 

c 

^\  c 

\  JO 

NO.  I 


Fid  I 


162 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


walls,  which  are  called  "points  de  Pocher."  I  do  not  mention  the  above 
in  the  light  of  an  apology,  but  rather  wish  to  show  that  those  who  plan 
in  snow  countries  have  a  different  problem  from  our  California 
architects. 

The  elevation  was  designed  to  harmonize  with  a  cornice  belonging  to 
a  Temple  of  the  Sun  published  in  the  restoration  of  Rome  by  Despuoy. 
I  chose  the  cornice  composed  by  this  man,  who  died  about  2000  years 
ago,  because  it  is  the  one  cornice  that  had  the  simplicity  of  the  Greeks, 
quite  distinctly  shown  by  plate  Number  323  preceding,  which  has  the 


ROTUNDA 


character  of  the  Greek  cornice  (Figure  5).  The  projection  A  B  is  a 
decidedly  clear  offset  when  compared  with  the  Roman  D  C  (Figure  6), 
which  makes  an  angle  of  about  45  degrees. 

Because  this  man's  work  is  the  keynote  to  the  whole  composition, 
the  general  feeling  of  the  Fine  Arts  Palace  is  Greek.  This  led  to  a  num- 
ber of  unusual  points  of  view. 

In  the  colonnade  there  are  two  styles  of  columns  (cuts  F  and  E). 
In  the  Renaissance  method  of  composition,  the  column  F  is  Corinthian 
and  the  column  E  would  be  Ionic.  The  Greeks  would  not  have  mixed 
these  two  orders;  therefore  we  made  the  height  of  F  eleven  times  the 


PALACE    OF    FINE  ARTS 


163 


size  of  the  diameter  at  the  base;  and  E,  to  suggest  a  heavy  Doric,  was 
made  a  Corinthian  in  eight  diameters,  and  the  cap  was  made  shorter 
and  had  a  wider  flare  than  the  cap  of  F. 


'>T  ini  uiir  mir  liwr  1 


Fig.  5 


And,  again,  in  the  Renaissance  character,  the  boxes  on  the  groups 
of  four  columns  would  have  had  the  line  X  Y  (Figure  7)  at  the  corners 
broken  up  with  a  shield,  etc.;  but  the  Greek  did  not  decorate  that  way. 
He  would  have  put  human  figures  on  the  corners  to  break  the  line  X  Y 
(Figure  8).  The  difference  between  the  Greek  method  of  composing 
and  mine  is  that  the  figure  turned  its  back  to  the  audience  (Figure  9). 
This  was  done  for  sentimental  reasons  and  to  strike  the  minor  key  of 
sadness. 


Fig.  10 

There  was  in  the  first  drawing  a  triumphal  gate  at  the  north  and 
south  entrances  to  the  crescent  way,  like  that  of  Constantine  in  Rome 
(Figure  10).  Rut  that  was  omitted  to  save  expense,  and  I  believe  it 


164 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


gave  a  quieter  result  with  the  gate  omitted,  although  architecturally  it 
might  have  made  a  better  elevation  on  paper,  and  the  "pocher"  in  plan 
would  have  looked  better. 

The  figure  over  the  main  entrance  doorway  was  put  entirely  free 
of  the  wall  because  it  gives  a  sense  of  freedom  to  sculpture  that  is  not 
usual,  but  was  also  done  this  way  for  its  psychological  effect,  to  strike 
a  hopeful  note  at  the  entrance. 

On  the  rotunda  arches,  the  spring  line  of  the  arch  was  not  accen- 
tuated because  it  would  have  spoiled  the  proportion  of  the  central  arch 
seen  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  lagoon.  The  other  arches  had  to  reach 
to  the  ground  and  therefore  pilasters  and  entablatures  accentuated  the 
spring  line. 

The  polygons  in  the  inner  dome  are  all  on  a  plane  surface  tangent  to 
an  imaginary  sphere.  This,  I  believe,  gives  more  snap  and  is  less  work 
than  if  they  had  been  made  spherical.  The  steps  in  the  polygon  caissons 


are  made  to  avoid  perspective  distortion,  just  as  they  were  made  in 
the  Pantheon  in  Rome  (Figure  11). 

The  difference  in  level  between  the  floor  of  the  dome  and  the  altar 
came  from  the  fact  that  a  pedestal  for  the  dome  was  needed,  as  well 
as  for  the  main  building;  therefore  the  whole  composition  was  planned 
as  though  the  main  floor  were  nine  feet  above  the  ground,  but  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  authorities  would  not  allow  steps,  and  because  it  would 
be  cheaper,  the  actual  floor  is  on  the  ground,  with  an  aesthetic  imaginary 
floor  nine  feet  above  it,  indicated  by  the  terrace  on  the  crescent  way  and 
floor  of  the  altar. 

It  was  intended  that  the  foliage  should  be  high  and  romantic,  avoid- 
ing all  stiff  lines,  but  the  scale  was  so  large  that  it  was  impossible  to 
plant  things  large  enough  and  with  restricted  means  and  time  to  realize 
this  intention.  If  it  were  a  permanent  building,  the  planting  could  be 
arranged  to  have  the  proper  mass  in  ten  to  twenty  years.  On  the 
whole,  the  lagoon  is  the  crux  of  the  whole  composition;  it  is  inevitably 
incorporated  into  the  entire  theme,  and  fortunately  no  bridge  was  put 
across  it,  as  was  at  first  demanded.  We  must  be  thankful  to  the  chief 
of  construction  that  it  was  omitted. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INDEX 


CALIFORNIAN  PAINTERS,  ETCHERS, 
AND  SCULPTORS 

Aitken,  Robert  Ingersoll 

Born  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  1878.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Art  Inst.  Mem- 
ber: National  Inst.  Arts  and  Letters;  National  Academy  (academician);  Nat'l 
Sculpture  Society  (secretary);  Union  Int.  des  Beaux  Arts  et  des  Lettres;  French 
Institute  in  America;  Municipal  Art  Soc,  New  York;  Fine  Arts  Federation  and 
Architectural  League.  Exhibited  at:  International  exhibitions,  Rome,  Venice,  and 
San  Francisco.  Honors:  Phelan  medal,  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n;  Helen  Foster 
Barnett  prize,  N.  A.;  gold  medal  of  honor  for  sculpture,  Arch.  League;  silver 
medal  for  sculpture,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 

Atkins,  Arthur 

Born  Queen's  Ferry,  England,  1873.  Died  1899,  Piedmont,  Cal.  Studied: 
California  and  Paris;  almost  wholly  self-taught.  Memorial  exhibitions  in  1900, 
1905,  and  1910.  His  "Letters  and  Notes  Upon  Painting"  published  in  one  vol- 
ume, 1908. 


Boronda,  Lester  D. 

Born  Reno,  Nev.,  1886.  Studied:  Mark  Hopkins  Institute  of  Art,  San 
Francisco;  Art  Students'  League,  New  York;  Munich  and  Paris.  Exhibited  at: 
Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts;  Nat'l  Academy  of  Design,  New  York;  Cor- 
coran Gallery,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Boone,  Cora 

Born  Missouri.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art;  Central  School 
of  Arts  and  Crafts,  London,  1912-1913;  Paris,  1913.  Exhibited  at  Panama-Pacific 
Int.  Exposition,  1915. 


Borg,  Carl  Oscar 

Born  Sweden,  1879.  Self-taught.  Member:  Salmagundi  Club,  New  York; 
California  Art  Club;  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n;  California  Society  of  Etchers. 
Exhibited  at:  Societe  des  Artistes  Francais,  Paris;  Int.  Exhibition,  Rome;  Venice; 
Amsterdam;  St.  Petersburg;  Ghent;  Royal  Academy,  London.  Honors:  Honorable 
mention,  Vichy,  1913;  silver  medal,  Versailles,  1914;  silver  medal,  Panama-Califor- 
nia Exp.,  San  Diego,  1915;  silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Fran- 
cisco, 1915. 

Braun,  Maurice 

Born  Hungary,  1877.  Studied:  National  Academy  of  Design,  New  York, 
under  Francis  C.  Jones,  Edgar  M.  Ward,  and  Geo.  W.  Maynard.  Exhibited  at: 
National  Academy  of  Design,  New  York;  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts, 
Philadelphia;  Art  Institute  of  Chicago;  Detroit  Museum  of  Art;  Los  Angeles  Museum 
of  Fine  Arts;  Panama-Pacific  Exposition;  Panama-California  Exposition.  Honors: 
Gold  medal,  Panama-California  Exposition,  San  Diego,  1915. 

Bremer,  Anne  M. 

Born  San  Francisco,  Cal.  Studied:  Mark  Hopkins  Institute  of  Art,  San 
Francisco;  Art  Students'  League,  New  York;  Academie  Moderne  and  La  Palette, 
Paris.  Member:  San  Francisco  Society  of  Artists;  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n;  the 
California  Art  Club;  President  San  Francisco  Sketch  Club,  1905-07.  Exhibited 
at:  Salon  d'Automne,  Paris;  Society  of  Washington  Artists,  Washington,  D.  C; 
Pennsylvania  Academy.  Honorable  mention  and  N.  C.  Concours  Certificate  at 
Mark  Hopkins  Institute;  bronze  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Fran- 
cisco, 1915. 


168  ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Rreuer,  Henry  Joseph 

Rorn  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  1860.  Studied:  Cincinnati,  New  York,  and  Paris. 
Lived  and  worked  principally  in  California  during  past  thirty  years  as  a  land- 
scape painter.  Ry  request  two  pictures  were  shown  with  Exhibition  of  American 
Masterpieces  at  Berlin.  Honors:  Silver  medal,  Seattle  Exposition;  gold  medal, 
Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 


Rrown,  Renjamin  Chameers 

Rorn  Marion,  Ark.,  1865.  Studied:  St.  Louis  School  of  Fine  Arts;  Julian 
Academie,  Paris,  under  J.  P.  Laurens  and  J.  Renjamin  Constant.  Member:  Advisory 
Committee,  Art  Dept.  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition;  California  Art  Club  of  Los 
Angeles  (president) ;  the  Print  Makers  of  Los  Angeles  (president).  Honors:  Silver 
medal,  Seattle  Exposition,  1909;  bronze  medal,  Portland,  1905;  silver  medal,  Pan- 
ama-California Exposition,  1915;  bronze  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition, 
San  Francisco,  1915. 


RURGDORFF,  FERDINAND 

Rorn  Cleveland,  Ohio,  1883.   Studied:  Cleveland  School  of  Art;  Paris. 


Cadenasso,  Giuseppe 

Rorn  Genoa,  Italy,  1858.  Studied:  Hopkins  Art  Institute,  San  Francisco. 
Exhibited  at  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition.  Honors:  Gold  medal,  Seattle  Expo- 
sition, 1909. 


Cahill,  William  V. 

Rorn  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  Studied:  Art  Students'  League,  New  York;  Howard 
Pyle,  Wilmington,  Del.;  Rirge  Harrison.  Instructor  in  School  of  Illustration  and 
Painting,  Los  Angeles.  Member:  Salmagundi  Club;  California  Art  Club.  Honors: 
Wm.  T.  Evans  prize,  Salmagundi  Club,  1912;  Vezin  prize. 


Carlsen,  Emil 

Rorn  Copenhagen,  Denmark,  1853.  Came  to  United  States  in  1872. 
Studied  architecture  at  Danish  Royal  Academy.  Member:  S.  A.  A.,  1902;  Nat.  Inst. 
A.  L.;  N.  A.,  1906.  Honors:  Second  Inness  prize,  Salma  C,  1904;  Shaw  purchase, 
S.  A.  A.,  1904;  gold  medal,  St.  Louis  Exposition,  1904;  Webb  prize,  S.  A.  A.,  1905; 
Inness  medal,  N.  A.  D.,  1907;  third  medal,  C.  I.,  Pittsburgh,  1908;  Temple  gold 
medal,  P.  A.  F.  A.,  1912;  bronze  medal,  Ruenos  Aires,  1910;  medal  of  honor,  Pana- 
ma-Pacific Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 


Cummings,  Earl  Melvin 

Rorn  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  1876.  Studied  with  Mercie  and  Noel  in  Paris; 
Douglas  Tilden  in  San  Francisco.  Instructor  at  San  Francisco  Art  Inst,  since  1915. 
Member:  Roard  of  Park  Commissioners  of  San  Francisco.  Work:  "Robert  Burns," 
Golden  Gate  Park,  San  Francisco. 


CUNEO,  RlNALDO 

Rorn  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  1877.  Studied:  Mark  Hopkins  Institute,  San 
Francisco;  under  Piazzoni,  Paris  and  London.  Has  actively  devoted  his  time  to 
art  only  in  the  past  three  years.  Exhibited  at:  Mark  Hopkins  Institute  of  Art; 
Golden  Gate  Park  Museum;  Sorosis  Club;  Del  Monte  Art  Gallery;  Panama-Pacific 
Int.  Exposition. 


Dixon,  Maynard 

Rorn  Fresno,  Cal.,  1875.  Self-taught.  Journeys  and  studies  throughout 
West,  1895-1916,  visiting  Indian  tribes,  cattle  ranges,  desert.  Known  principally 
through  his  pictures  of  desert  and  Southwest  Indian  subjects.  Member:  Salma- 
gundi Club;  Architectural  League  of  New  York;  Architectural  Club  of  Chicago. 
Honor:  Rronze  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INDEX 


169 


Daggett,  Maud 

Born  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  1883.  Studied:  Art  Institute,  Chicago;  Paris; 
Rome.  Member:  Southern  California  Art  Club.  Exhibited  at:  Salon,  Paris;  Seattle 
Exposition;  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition;  Panama-California  Exposition. 

Del  Mue,  Maurice 

Born  Paris,  France,  1878.  Came  to  California  at  age  of  seven.  Studied: 
San  Francisco  Art  Association  under  Arthur  Mathews  and  A.  Joullin;  Gerome, 
Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts,  Paris.  Exhibited  at:  Royal  Academy,  London.  Honor:  Sil- 
ver medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 


De  Jong,  Betty 

Born  Paris.  Studied:  Paris.  Exhibited  at:  Societaire  du  Salon  d'Au- 
tomne,  Paris;  London.  Honors:  Medal  of  honor,  Vichy;  honorable  mention,  Pana- 
ma-Pacific Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 


Dickman,  Charles  John 

Born  Germany,  1863.  Studied:  Julian  Academy,  Paris.  Honor:  Medal 
Academie  Colorossi,  Paris.  Member  of  the  International  Jury  of  Awards,  Panama- 
Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 

Dunlap,  Helena 

Born  Whittier,  Cal.  Studied:  Chicago  Art  Institute;  Pennsylvania  Acad- 
emy; Lucion  Simon,  Paris.  Exhibited  at:  Societe  National  des  Beaux  Arts,  Paris; 
Academy  Nat'l  Design,  New  York;  Chicago  Art  Institute.  Member:  California  Art 
Club.  Honor:  Second  prize,  California  Art  Club;  silver  medal,  Panama-California 
Exposition,  San  Diego,  1915. 


Edmond,  Elizareth 

Born  Portland,  Me.,  1887.  Studied:  Massachusetts  Normal  Art  School, 
Boston;  Art  Students'  League,  New  York,  under  Jas.  Earle  Fraser;  Academie  Col- 
orossi, Paris,  under  Paul  W.  Bartlett  and  M.  Injalbert.  Member:  California  Art 
Club,  Los  Angeles.  Exhibited  at:  Salons  de  la  Societe  des  Artistes  Francais;  Royal 
Academy,  London;  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts;  National  Academy  of 
Design;  Toledo  Museum  of  Fine  Arts;  Los  Angeles  Museum  of  Fine  Arts.  Honor: 
Bronze  medal,  Panama-California  Exposition,  San  Diego,  1915. 


Fortune,  E.  Charlton 

Born  Sausalito,  Cal.,  1885.  Studied:  St.  John's  Wood  School  of  Art,  Lon- 
don; Art  Students'  League,  New  York.  Four  scholarships.  Exhibited  at:  Royal 
Scottish  Academy;  Liverpool  Art  Gallery;  National  Arts  Club,  New  York.  Honors: 
Silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915;  silver  medal, 
Panama-California  Exposition,  San  Diego,  1915. 


Froelich,  Maren  M. 

Born  Fresno,  Cal.  Studied:  San  Francisco  School  of  Design,  Menard, 
Simon,  Casteluchio  Academy,  Paris;  with  Theodore  Steinlen  and  Richard  Miller, 
Paris.  Exhibited  at:  San  Francisco  Art  Institute;  l'Union  Internationale  and  Salon 
des  Artistes  Francais,  Paris;  Golden  Gate  Park  Memorial  Museum,  San  Francisco; 
Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition.  Honors:  Avery  gold  medal  for  painting;  Alvord 
gold  medal  for  drawing;  honorable  mention,  San  Francisco  School  of  Design. 
Instructor  at  San  Francisco  School  of  Design  and  Irving  Institute. 


Greenraum,  Joseph 

Born  New  York,  1864.  Studied:  San  Francisco  School  of  Design;  Le- 
febvre,  Robert,  Fleury,  Doucet,  and  Humbert  of  Paris;  Carl  Marr,  Munich.  Exhib- 
ited at  Paris  Salon;  Munich.  Honors:  Honorable  mention,  Royal  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts,  Munich;  gold  medal,  Alaska-Yukon  Exposition,  Seattle,  1909. 


170  ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Gamble,  John  Marshall 

Rorn  Morristown,  N.  J.,  1863.  Studied:  San  Francisco  School  of  Design 
under  Virgil,  Williams,  and  Emil  Carleson;  Academie  Julian,  Paris,  Jean  Paul 
Laurens  and  Renjamin  Constant.  Has  specialized  in  painting  landscapes  with 
wild  flowers.  Exhibited  at:  Midwinter  Fair,  San  Francisco;  San  Francisco  Art 
Ass'n;  St.  Louis  Exposition;  New  York  Water  Color  Society;  Philadelphia  Academy 
Fine  Arts;  Chicago  Art  Institute.  Honor:  Gold  medal,  Alaska-Yukon  Exposition, 
Seattle,  1909. 

Gray,  Percy 

Rorn  San  Francisco,  1869.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n;  New  York 
Art  League,  William  M.  Chase.  Exhibited:  Various  galleries  and  clubs  in  San 
Francisco.   Rronze  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 

Hansen,  Armin  C. 

Rorn  San  Francisco,  1886.  Studied:  San  Francisco,  Stuttgart,  Munich, 
Antwerp.  Exhibited  at:  International  Exposition,  Rrussels,  1910;  Salon  du  Prin- 
temps,  Rrussels;  Int.  Exposition,  Liege,  Relgium;  Art  Institute,  Chicago;  Penn- 
sylvania Academy  F.  A.,  Philadelphia;  American  Academy  Design,  New  York. 
Honor:  Silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 

Herkomer,  Herman  G. 

Rorn  Cleveland,  1863.  Studied:  London,  Paris,  Munich.  Whole  career 
has  been  spent  abroad,  where  he  has  painted  portraits  of  prominent  people. 
Exhibited  for  thirty  years  in  Royal  Academy,  London;  Paris  Salon.  Honors:  Hon- 
orable mention,  Paris  Salon;  silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San 
Francisco,  1915. 

Hill,  Thomas 

Rorn  Rirmingham,  England,  1829;  died  near  Raymond,  1908.  Came  to 
America,  1840;  to  California,  1861.  Studied  in  Paris,  1866.  Honors:  Received 
thirty-one  medals,  etc.  "Merchant  of  Venice,"  first  prize,  San  Francisco  Art  Union, 
1865,  owned  by  son,  Robert  Hill;  "Grand  Canon  of  the  Sierras,"  Crocker  Art 
Gallery;  "Donner  Lake"  and  "Yosemite  Valley,"  bought  by  Leland  Stanford; 
"Yosemite  Valley,"  bought  bv  Charles  Crocker,  $5000;  "Heart  of  the  Sierras," 
bought  by  E.  J.  Raldwin,  $10,000. 

Hinkle,  Clarence  K. 

Rorn  Auburn,  Cal.,  1880.  Studied:  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts; 
at  end  of  two  years  was  awarded  traveling  scholarship;  Julian  Academy,  Paris. 
Worked  in  Etapal,  Holland,  six  years.  Exhibited  at:  National  Academy,  New 
York;  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  F.  A.;  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition. 

Hobart,  Clark 

Rorn  Rockford,  111.  Studied:  Mark  Hopkins  Institute,  San  Francisco; 
Art  Students'  League  of  New  York;  three  years  in  Paris;  with  Cadenasso,  then 
with  Keith  in  San  Francisco;  Robert  Rlum  in  New  York.  Honors:  Chosen  among 
all  the  art  students  to  make  four  panels  for  Ruilding  of  Ethnology,  Pan-American 
Exposition,  Ruffalo;  silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Fran- 
cisco, 1915. 

Hunter,  Isabel 

Rorn  San  Francisco.  Studied:  Hopkins  Institute  of  Art;  New  York  Art 
League.  Exhibited  at:  Various  California  exhibitions;  Panama-Pacific  Int. 
Exposition. 

Johnson,  Caroline  Rixford 

Rorn  San  Francisco,  1873.  Studied:  Mark  Hopkins  Institute  of  Art,  San 
Francisco;  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n,  under  Mathews;  Paris,  under  James  McNeill 
Whistler,  and  Laurens  in  Academie  Julian,  Paris.  President  of  San  Francisco 
Society  of  Artists,  1913-1915. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INDEX 


171 


JOULLIN,  AMADEE 

Born  San  Francisco,  1862.  Studied:  Beaux  Arts,  Paris,  under  William 
Bouguereau,  Tony,  Robert,  and  Fleury;  Jules  Tavernier,  San  Francisco.  Instruc- 
tor of  painting  and  drawing  San  Francisco  School  of  Design,  University  of  Cali- 
fornia, 1887-1897.  Exhibited  at  National  Academy  Design,  New  York;  Omaha 
Exposition;  Union  League  Club,  New  York;  South  Carolina  Interstate  Exposition; 
Societe  des  Artist  Francais  and  Salon,  Paris.  Made  officer  D'Academie  France, 
1901;  Officer  de  Instruction  Public,  1905. 


Judson,  C.  Chapel 

Born  Detroit,  Mich.,  1864.  Studied:  San  Francisco  School  of  Design; 
Munich;  Paris.  Exhibited  at  San  Francisco  School  of  Design  and  California 
exhibitions.  Assistant  Professor  of  Drawing,  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n;  Assistant 
Professor  Graphic  Art,  University  of  California. 


Keith,  William 

Born  Aberdeenshire,  Scotland,  1839;  died  Berkeley,  Cal.,  1911.  Came  to 
New  York  in  1851.  Engraver  until  1859,  when  he  went  to  California  and  devoted 
himself  to  landscape  painting.  Studied  under  Achenbach  and  Carl  Marr  and  spent 
some  time  in  Paris.  Was  also  prominent  as  portrait  painter.  Honor:  Bronze  medal, 
Pan-American  Exposition,  Buffalo,  1901. 


Latimer,  Lorenzo  Palmer 

Born  Placer  County,  Cal.,  1857.  Studied:  Mark  Hopkins  Institute  of  Art, 
California  School  of  Design.  Second  Vice  President  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n  and 
member  San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art.  Honors:  Gold  medals,  California  Mid- 
winter Fair,  San  Francisco;  silver  medal,  Portland  Exposition,  1905;  silver  medal, 
Seattle  Exposition,  1909;  other  medals  from  various  fairs  and  exhibitions. 


Lemos,  Pedro  J. 

Born  Austin,  Nev.,  1882.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art;  Art 
Students'  League,  Columbia  College;  Design,  with  Benedict  of  Chicago.  Professor 
of  Design,  University  of  California;  head  of  Department  of  Design,  San  Fran- 
cisco Institute  of  Art;  Director  San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art,  1914-1916.  One  of 
organizers  of  California  Society  of  Etchers.  Has  exhibited  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts.  Honorable  mention,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San 
Francisco,  1915. 


Lundborg,  Florence 

Born  San  Francisco,  Cal.  Studied  in  San  Francisco  with  Arthur  F. 
Mathews  and  in  Paris  with  Whistler.  Has  specialized  in  mural  painting.  Honors: 
Gold  medal,  San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art;  bronze  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int. 
Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915.  Mural  painting  of  particular  interest:  "Opulence 
of  Spring." 


LUNGREN,  FERNAND 

Born  Maryland,  1859.  Studied:  New  York  and  Paris.  Known  especially 
for  his  work  in  desert  and  Indian  ceremonials.  Member  of  several  tribes  and 
Indian  priesthoods.  Exhibited  at:  London,  Paris,  Rome;  pictures  in  Wallace, 
Corcoran,  Staats  Forbes  collections. 


MacChesney,  Clara  T. 

Born  Brownsville,  Cal.  Studied:  San  Francisco  School  of  Design;  Gotham 
Art  School,  New  York,  under  Mowbray  and  Beckwith;  Colorossi  Academy,  Paris, 
with  Geradot  and  Courtois.  N.  Y.  W.  C.  C;  A.  W.  C.  S.;  N.  A.  C;  N.  Y.  Municipal 
A.  S.;  Barnard  C,  London.  Honors:  Two  gold  medals,  Columbian  Exposition, 
Chicago,  1893;  Dodge  prize,  N.  A.  D.,  1894;  gold  medal  for  water  color,  A.  C, 
Philadelphia,  1900;  second  Hallgarten  prize,  N.  A.  D.,  1901;  bronze  medal,  St. 
Louis  Exposition,  1904. 


172  ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Macky,  Constance 

Born  Melbourne,  Australia,  1883.  Studied:  National  Gallery  Painting 
School,  Melbourne,  Australia;  London,  Paris,  Italy.  Honors:  Gold  and  silver 
medals,  Melbourne  A.  R.,  1907. 


Macky,  E.  Spencer 

Born  Auckland,  New  Zealand,  1880.    Studied:  National  Gallery  Painting 
School,  Melbourne,  Australia;  Academie  Julian,  Paris. 


Mannheim,  Jean 

Born  Germany.  Studied:  Paris.  Exhibited  at:  Paris  Salon;  New  York 
Academy,  and  other  exhibitions.  Honor:  Gold  medal,  Alaska- Yukon  Exposition, 
Seattle,  1909. 


Martinez,  Xavier  T. 

Born  Guadalajara,  Mexico,  1874.  Studied:  Mark  Hopkins  Institute,  San 
Francisco;  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts,  under  Gerome  and  Carriere.  Honors:  Gold 
medal,  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n,  1895;  honorable  mention,  Paris  Exposition,  1900. 


Mathews,  Arthur  F. 

Born  Markesan,  Wis.  Member:  International  Jury  of  Awards,  Panama- 
Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915.  Director  California  School  of  De- 
sign, 1890-1906.  Prominent  among  works  are  mural  decorations  (twelve  panels), 
Oakland  (Cal.)  Library;  California  landscape,  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York. 


Mathews,  Lucia  K. 

Born  San  Francisco.    Studied:  San  Francisco.    Silver  medal,  Panama- 
Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 


McComas,  Francis 

Born  Fingal,  Tasmania,  1875.  Studied:  Julian  Academy,  Paris;  Sydney, 
Australia.  Came  to  California,  1898.  Member  of  the  Jury  of  Awards,  Panama- 
Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 


McCormick,  M.  Evelyn 

Born  Placerville,  Cal.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n;  Julian  Academy, 
Paris.  Exhibited  at:  Paris  Salon,  Berlin,  New  York  Academy,  Chicago  Art  Insti- 
tute.  Honor:  Bronze  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 


McQuarrie,  J. 

Born  San  Francisco.    Bear  Flag  monument,  Sonoma  City,  Cal.;  Donner 
Lake  monument,  Donner  Lake,  Cal. 


Mersfelder,  Jules 

Born  Stockton,  Cal.,  1867.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Art  Institute.  Exhib- 
ited at:  National  Academy  of  Design,  New  York;  Society  of  American  Artists, 
New  York;  Hopkins  Art  Loan  Exhibition;  Chicago  Art  Institute.  Honors:  Klio 
Association  prize;  bronze  medal,  St.  Louis  Exposition. 


Morgan,  M.  DeNeale 

Born  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  1868.  Studied:  San  Francisco  School  of  Design; 
Mark  Hopkins  Institute;  Wm.  M.  Chase.  Exhibited  at:  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n; 
Pennsylvania  Academy  of  F.  A.;  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Art  Club;  Del  Monte  Art  Gallery. 
Cash  prize  for  water  color,  Summer  exhibition,  Carmel,  Cal. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INDEX 


173 


Mora,  Joseph  J. 

Born  Montevideo,  Uruguay,  1876.  Studied:  Art  Students'  League,  New 
York;  Chase  School  of  Art,  New  York;  Cowles  Art,  Boston;  J.  C.  Beckwith;  Win. 
M.  Chase;  Jos.  De  Camp;  D.  Mora.  Influence  of  four  years  spent  in  ethnological 
studies  of  Navajo  and  Hopi  Indians  of  Arizona  is  exemplified  in  numerous  groups 
of  these  Indians  and  Southwestern  subjects.  Exhibited  at:  National  Academy  of 
Design,  New  York;  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  F.  A.;  Alaska- Yukon  Exposition, 
Seattle;  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition.  Member  of  International  Jury  of  Awards 
(sculpture),  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco.  Works:  Monument 
to  Cervantes,  Golden  Gate  Park,  San  Francisco;  lobby  (Spanish  renaissance) 
Examiner  Building,  Los  Angeles. 


Nahl,  Perham  W. 

Born  San  Francisco,  1869.  Studied:  California  School  of  Design;  San 
Francisco  Art  Ass'n;  Akademie  Heyman,  Munich;  Paris.  Is  also  mural  decorator, 
lithographer,  and  etcher.  Honors:  Bronze  medal,  Alaska-Yukon  Exposition,  Seat- 
tle, 1909;  first  prize,  poster  ("Thirteenth  Labor  of  Hercules")  for  the  Panama- 
Pacific  Int.  Exposition;  silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Fran- 
cisco, 1915. 

Nelson,  Bruce 

Born  San  Jose,  Cal.,  1888.  Studied:  California;  New  York.  Honor: 
Silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 

Neuhaus,  Eugen 

Born  Germany,  1879.  Studied:  Kassel  and  Berlin,  Germany;  Holland; 
France.  Painter,  writer,  and  lecturer.  Assistant  Professor  of  Decorative  Design, 
University  of  California.  Member:  International  Jury  of  Awards,  Panama-Pacific 
Int.  Exposition.  Honors:  Second  prize  for  landscape,  San  Francisco  Art  Institute; 
medal,  Seattle  Exposition. 

Pages,  Jules 

Born  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  1867.  Studied  with  Constant,  Lefebvre,  and 
Robert-Fleury  in  Paris.  Honors:  Honorable  mention,  Paris  Salon,  1895;  third- 
class  medal,  Paris  Salon,  1899;  second-class  medal,  Paris  Salon,  1905.  Instructor 
at  the  Julian  Academy  night  class  since  1902. 

Pape,  Eric 

Born  San  Francisco,  1870.  Studied:  With  Emil  Carlsen,  New  York;  Ecole 
des  Beaux  Arts,  Paris,  under  Gerome,  Constant,  Lefebvre,  Doucet,  and  Delance. 
Member:  United  Arts  Club,  London;  Royal  Society  of  Arts,  London;  Atlantic 
Union,  London;  North  British  Academy;  Players  Club,  New  York.  Director  Eric 
Pape  School  of  Art.   Honors:  Five  medals  and  diplomas  at  various  exhibitions. 

Partington,  Gertrude 

Born  Heysham,  England.  Studied:  Paris  and  Madrid.  Exhibited  at: 
Salon  Internationale  des  Beaux  Arts;  Carnegie  Institute;  Philadelphia  Academy; 
Corcoran  Gallery,  Washington,  D.  C.  Honor:  Bronze  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int. 
Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 

Patigian,  Haig 

Born  Armenia,  1876.  Studied  in  San  Francisco  and  Paris.  Member: 
National  Sculpture  Society;  American  Federation  of  Arts;  International  Jury  of 
Awards,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco.  Exhibited  at:  Paris 
Salon;  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  F.  A. 

Peixotto,  Ernest 

Born  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  1869.  Studied  with  Constant,  Lefebvre,  and 
Doucet  in  Paris.  Member:  A.  N.  A.,  1909;  New  York  Architectural  League;  Society 
of  Illustrators,  1906;  Salmagundi  Club.   Honorable  mention,  Paris  Salon,  1895. 


174  ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 

Peck,  Orrin 

Born  Hobart,  N.  Y.,  1857.  Studied:  Munich.  Exhibited:  Munich,  London, 
Vienna,  New  York,  Chicago,  San  Francisco.   Honors:  Three  gold  medals. 

Pennoyer,  A.  Sheldon 

Born  Oakland,  Cal.,  1888.  Studied:  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts,  Julian  Academy, 
and  Academie  de  la  Grande  Chaumiere,  Paris,  under  Rene  Mesnard  and  Lucien 
Simon;  in  Naples  under  Giuseppe  Cascaro;  Rome  under  Carlandi;  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts,  Philadelphia,  with  Breckenridge,  Carlsen,  and  Daniel  Garber.  Exhibited 
at:  Art  Club,  Philadelphia;  Golden  Gate  Park  Museum,  San  Francisco,  and  Panama- 
Pacific  Int.  Exposition. 

Percy, Isarelle  Clark 

Born  Alameda,  Cal.,  1882.  Studied:  Mark  Hopkins  Institute,  San  Fran- 
cisco; Columbia  University,  New  York;  with  Brangwyn  in  London.  Member: 
California  Arts  and  Crafts;  N.  S.  Crafts;  California  Sketch  Club.  Instructor  in 
Berkeley  School  of  Arts  and  Crafts.  Exhibited  at:  Munich;  Chicago  Art  Institute. 
Honors:  Honorable  mention  in  Paris  Salon;  bronze  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int. 
Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 

Peters,  Chas.  Rollo 

Born  California,  1862.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Art  School  and  with  Jules 
Tavernier;  Beaux  Arts,  Paris,  under  Gerome;  Julian  Academy  under  Boulanger, 
Lefebvre,  and  Alexander  Harrison.  Returned  to  California  in  1895  and  has  since 
that  time  devoted  himself  almost  exclusively  to  the  study  of  night  effects.  Exhib- 
ited at:  California  Gallery  and  Union  League  Club. 

Piazzoni,  Gottardo  F.  P. 

Born  Intragna,  Switzerland,  1872.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n; 
School  of  Design;  Julian  Academie,  and  Beaux  Arts,  Paris.  Exhibited  at:  St. 
Louis  Exposition;  International  Exposition  of  Fine  Arts,  Rome;  Societe  Nationale 
des  Beaux  Arts,  Paris;  Corcoran  Gallery,  Washington,  D.  C.;  Panama-Pacific  Int. 
Exposition,  San  Francisco. 

Poor,  Henry  Varnum 

Born  Chapman,  Kan.,  1887.  Studied:  California;  with  Walter  Sickert, 
London;  Juliens  and  Lucien  Simon,  Paris.  Assistant  Professor  of  Art,  Stanford 
University,  Cal.  Exhibited  at:  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts;  Panama- 
Pacific  Int.  Exposition. 

Porter,  Bruce 

Born  San  Francisco,  1865.  Studied:  California,  Paris,  London,  Venice. 
Member:  American  Painters  and  Sculptors.  Designed  Stevenson  Memorial,  San 
Francisco. 

Puthuff,  Hanson 

Born  Waverly,  Mo.,  1875.  Studied:  University  Art  School,  Denver,  Colo. 
Exhibited:  Chicago  Art  Institute;  New  York  Academy;  Society  of  Eastern  Artists; 
San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n;  California  Art  Club,  Los  Angeles;  Alaska- Yukon  Expo- 
sition. Honors:  Honorable  mention,  Art  School,  Denver;  honorable  mention,  Cali- 
fornia Art  Club  exhibition;  silver  medal,  Panama-California  Exposition,  San 
Diego,  1915. 

Putnam,  Arthur 

Born  Mississippi,  1873.  Came  to  California,  1886.  Self-instructed.  Visited 
Paris  and  Italy  in  1906.  Began  his  work  of  animal  sculpture  originally  from 
observation  of  bands  of  wild  buffalos.  Exhibited  at  Paris  Salon,  1906,  six  works. 
Honor:  Gold  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915.  Prom- 
inent works  of  sculpture  are  Sloat  monument,  Monterey,  Cal.;  "Snarling  Jaguar," 
Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INDEX 


175 


Price,  Clayton  S. 

Born  Iowa,  1875.  Moved  to  Sheridan,  Wyo.,  1886.  Studied:  St.  Louis 
School  of  Fine  Arts  for  one  year  at  invitation  of  Colonel  Jay  L.  Torrey.  Has  been 
spending  his  life  since  on  ranges  in  California.  Honor:  Gold  medal,  St.  Louis 
School  of  Fine  Arts,  for  greatest  progress  in  work  covering  period  of  one  year. 


Randolph,  Lee  F. 

Born  Ravenna,  Ohio,  1880.  Studied:  Art  Academy,  Cincinnati,  Ohio; 
Art  Students'  League,  New  York;  ten  years  in  France  and  Italy.  Member:  Cali- 
fornia Society  of  Etchers.  Exhibited  at:  Paris  Salons  and  international  exhibi- 
tions of  art,  Rome;  San  Francisco  Society  of  Artists;  Chicago  Society  of  Etchers; 
seven  etchings  in  Luxembourg  Collection,  Paris.  Honor:  Bronze  medal,  Panama- 
Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 


Raphael,  Joseph 

Born  Jackson,  Cal.,  1871.  Studied:  Hopkins  Art  Institute,  San  Francisco; 
Academie  Julian,  Paris.  Exhibited  at:  Art  Institute,  Chicago;  Pennsylvania  Acad- 
emy of  F.  A.  Honors:  Honorable  mention,  Paris  Salon,  1905.  Painting  purchased 
by  Raphael  Weill  of  San  Francisco  and  presented  to  Golden  Gate  Park  Memorial 
Museum;  silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 


Redmond,  Granville 

Born  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  1871.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Art  Ass'n;  Julian 
Academie,  Paris,  under  Constant  and  Laurens.  Exhibited  at:  Paris  Salon;  St. 
Louis  Exposition;  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition.  Honor:  Silver  medal,  Alaska- 
Yukon  Exposition,  Seattle,  1909. 


Rich,  John  Hubbard 

Born  Boston,  Mass.,  1876.  Studied:  Art  Students'  League,  New  York; 
Boston  Art  Museum;  Europe.  Member:  Salmagundi  Club,  New  York;  California 
Art  Club.  Instructor  in  School  for  Illustrating  and  Painting,  Los  Angeles.  Exhib- 
ited at:  National  Academy  of  Design;  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts;  Boston 
Art  Club.   Honor:  Paige  Traveling  Scholarship,  1905-07. 

Richardson,  Mary  Curtis 

Born  New  York,  1848.  Studied  in  San  Francisco  and  New  York.  Exhib- 
ited at:  National  Academy;  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts;  Corcoran  Gal- 
lery, Washington,  D.  C;  Columbia  Exposition,  Chicago;  Buenos  Aires  Exposition. 
Honors:  Norman  Dodge  prize;  silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition. 

Rierer,  Winifred 

Born  Virginia  City,  Nev.,  1870.  Studied:  Boston,  New  York,  Florence, 
and  Paris. 

Ritschel,  William 

Born  Nurnberg,  Germany,  1864.  Studied  with  F.  Kaulbach  and  C.  Raupp 
in  Munich;  came  to  United  States  in  1895.  Member:  A.  N.  A.,  1910;  N.  Y.  W.  C.  G.; 
A.  W.  C.  S.;  Kunstverein,  Munich.  Honors:  Honorable  mention,  Salma  G.;  hon- 
orable mention,  C.  I.,  Pittsburgh,  1912;  gold  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition, 
San  Francisco,  1915. 

Robinson,  Charles  Dorman 

Born  Vermont,  1847.  Studied  under  Wm.  Bradford,  M.  F.  H.  DeHass,  Geo. 
Inness,  I.  G.  Gignoux,  and  I.  F.  Cropsey  in  United  States;  with  Boudiu  and  Segantini, 
Paris.  Many  of  his  works  are  among  collections  of  the  royal  family  of  England, 
also  in  India,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  France,  and  Italy.  Is  principally  a  painter 
of  mountain  and  marine  subjects.  Honors:  Gold  medal,  State  Agricultural  Society 
in  1903;  all  prizes  by  this  society  in  1878.  Has  never  competed  for  any  public 
honors. 


176  ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Rose,  Guy 

Born  San  Gabriel,  Cal.,  1867.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Art  School;  Le- 
febvre,  Constant,  and  Doucet  in  Paris.  Honors:  Honorable  mention,  Paris  Salon; 
bronze  medal,  Buffalo  Exposition;  medal,  St.  Louis  Exposition;  silver  medal, 
Atlanta  Exposition;  silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Fran- 
cisco, 1915. 

Rosenthal,  Toby 

Born  New  Haven,  Conn.,  1848.  Came  to  California,  1854;  remained 
about  ten  years.  Returned  to  California  frequently  in  later  years.  Began  study 
in  Munich  in  1865,  with  Straehuber,  Raupp,  and  Piloty.  Member:  Munich  Artist 
Society;  "Zwanglosen,"  Munich  (scientifical  and  art  club).  Honors:  medal,  Cen- 
tennial Exposition,  Philadelphia,  1876;  gold  medal,  Munich  Exposition;  medal, 
Royal  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  1870.  Work  seldom  exhibited;  generally  entered 
into  private  collections  after  completion.  "Morning  Prayers  by  John  Sebastian 
Bach"  in  Leipzig  Gallery;  "Elaine"  in  New  York. 

Ryder,  Worth 

Born  Kirkwood,  111.,  1884.  Studied:  Art  Students'  League,  New  York; 
Royal  Bavarian  Academy,  Munich.  Honor:  Silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int. 
Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 

San  dona,  Matteo 

Born  Schio,  Italy,  1881.  Studied:  Verona  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  Italy. 
Member:  International  Jury  of  Awards,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition.  Honors: 
Silver  medals,  Verona  Academy,  1896-1899;  gold  medal,  School  of  Design,  New 
York,  1895;  silver  medal,  Portland  Exposition,  1905. 

Sargent,  Geneve  Rixford 

Born  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  1868.  Studied  with  Emil  Carlson,  William  Chase, 
and  Frank  Duveneck.   Honor:  Martin  B.  Cahn  prize,  1903,  Chicago  Art  Institute. 

Schuster,  Donna 

Born  Milwaukee,  Wis.  Studied:  Chicago  Art  Institute;  with  Edmund 
Tarbell  and  William  Chase.  Exhibited  at:  New  York  Academy  of  Fine  Arts;  New 
York  Water  Color  Society;  American  Water  Color  Society;  Pennsylvania  Academy 
of  Fine  Arts;  Chicago  Art  Institute.  Honors:  Silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int. 
Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915;  silver  medal,  San  Diego  Exposition,  1915;  silver 
medal,  Northwestern  States  Exhibition,  1915;  gold  medal,  Minnesota  State  Art 
Society. 

Shore,  Henrietta  M. 

Born  Toronto,  Can.  Studied:  Toronto,  New  York,  London,  and  Haarlem, 
Holland.  Exhibited  at  all  Canadian  exhibitions.  Honor:  Silver  medal,  Panama- 
California  Exposition,  San  Diego,  1915. 

Sparks,  Will 

Born  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1862.  Studied:  Washington  University,  St.  Louis; 
St.  Louis  School  of  Fine  Arts;  in  Paris  at  Julian  Academy  and  Colorossi  Academy 
with  Bouvert,  Cazin,  Harpignies,  and  Gerome.  Exhibited  at:  Toledo,  0.,  Museum; 
Minneapolis  Museum;  Spencer  Gallery,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Stanton,  John  A. 

Born  California,  1860.  Studied:  San  Francisco  School  of  Design;  Paris, 
with  Laurens  and  De  Chavannes.  Appointed  Chief  of  Fine  Arts  for  Midwinter 
Fair,  San  Francisco,  1895;  Professor  of  Drawing,  San  Francisco  School  of  Design 
for  fifteen  years.  Exhibited  at:  Paris;  Munich;  New  York;  San  Francisco  Art 
Ass'n  for  past  twenty  years.  Has  painted  portraits  of  many  prominent  persons, 
also  murals,  but  prefers  marines.  Honor:  Gold  medal  at  Sacramento,  Cal.,  for 
best  exhibition  of  pictures,  1896. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    INDEX  177 

Silva,  William  P. 

Born  Savannah,  Ga.  Studied:  Academy  Julian,  Paris,  with  Jean  Paul 
Laurens  and  Henry  Royor;  Chauncey  Ryder.  Member:  Salmagundi  Club,  New 
York;  Society  of  Washington  Artists,  Washington,  D.  C;  Chicago  Water  Color 
Club;  California  Art  Club.  Exhibited  at:  Paris  Salon;  Corcoran  Gallery,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C;  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  F.  A.;  National  Academy  of  Design,  New 
York;  Chicago  Art  Institute;  Golden  Gate  Park  Museum,  San  Francisco;  Museum 
of  History,  Science,  and  Art,  Los  Angeles.  Honors:  Silver  medal,  Appalachian 
Exposition,  Knoxville,  1910;  silver  medal,  Mississippi  Art  Ass'n,  1915;  silver  medal, 
Panama-California  Exposition,  San  Diego,  1915. 

Stackpole,  Ralph 

Born  near  Grants  Pass,  Ore.,  1885.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Institute  of 
Art  with  Arthur  Putnam  and  G.  Piazzoni;  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts,  Paris.  Honor: 
Honorable  mention,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 

Tavernier,  Jules 

Born  Paris,  1844;  died  Honolulu,  1889.  Studied:  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts, 
Paris,  with  Felix  Barrias.  Exhibited  at  Paris  Salon,  1864-1870.  "Sweat  House 
Dance"  painted  for  Mr.  Parrott  and  presented  by  him  to  Baron  Rothchild; 
"Waiting  for  Montezuma,"  owned  by  Irving  Scott;  the  famous  pastel,  "Jinks  Car- 
toon," owned  by  Bohemian  Club;  "The  Antiquarian,"  owned  by  Colonel  Hawes. 

Tilden,  Douglas 

Born  Chico,  Cal.,  1860.  Studied:  National  Academy  of  Design  and  Gotham 
Art  League,  New  York;  Paul  Choppin,  Paris.  Honors:  Honorable  mention,  Paris 
Salon;  bronze  medal,  World's  Exposition,  Paris;  commemorative  gold  medal,  St. 
Louis  Exposition;  gold  medal,  Alaska-Yukon  Exposition,  Seattle,  1909.  Prominent 
among  works  is  "Mechanics'  Fountain,"  San  Francisco. 

Townsley,  C.  P. 

Born  Sedalia,  Mo.,  1867.  Studied:  New  York  and  Paris.  Member:  Sal- 
magundi Club,  New  York.  Director  Stickney  Memorial  School  of  Fine  Arts,  Pasa- 
dena, Cal.;  formerly  Director  of  Chase  European  Classes  and  the  London  School 
of  Art.  Exhibited  at:  National  Academy  of  Design,  New  York;  American  Water 
Color  Society,  New  York;  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  Philadelphia; 
International  Exhibition,  Carnegie  Institute,  Pittsburgh;  Art  Institute,  Chicago. 

Van  Sloun,  Frank  J. 

Born  St.  Paul,  Minn.  Studied:  New  York.  Honor:  Bronze  medal,  Panama- 
Pacific  Int.  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915. 

Vivian,  Calthea 

Born  Missouri.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art;  Crocker  School 
of  Design;  Paris,  ateliers  Colorossi  and  Grand  Chanmerie;  England,  under  Lazar. 
Exhibited  at:  Paris;  San  Francisco  Art  Institute;  Del  Monte  Art  Gallery;  Panama- 
Pacific  Int.  Exposition.  Honors:  Gold  medal,  Crocker  Art  School;  silver  medal, 
California  State  Fair  exhibit. 

Wachtel,  Elmer 

Born  Baltimore,  Md.,  1864.  Studied:  Art  Students'  League,  New  York; 
Lambeth  Art  School,  London.  Honors:  Mark  Hopkins  prize  for  water  color,  San 
Francisco,  1902;  Mark  Hopkins  prize  for  oil,  San  Francisco,  1906. 

Wagner,  Rob 

Born  Detroit,  Mich.,  1872.  Studied:  University  of  Michigan;  Academie 
Julian,  Paris;  Academie  Delecluse.  Illustrator,  art  editor  of  Criterion,  New  York. 
Head  artist  of  "Encyclopedia  Britannica,"  London.  Honors:  Silver  medal,  Alaska- 
Yukon  Exposition,  Seattle,  1909;  bronze  medal,  Panama-Pacific  Int.  Exposition, 
San  Francisco,  1915. 


178  ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 

Wachtel,  Marion  Kavanagh 

Born  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  1875.  Studied:  Chicago  Art  Institute;  John  Van- 
derpoel  and  William  Chase. 

Walter,  Edgar 

Born  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  1877.  Studied:  San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art; 
Paris,  with  Cromon  and  Perrin.  Exhibited  at:  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York; 
Museum  of  Art,  Toledo,  Ohio;  San  Francisco  Institute  of  Art.  Honors:  Honorable 
mention,  Paris  Salon;  honorable  mention,  Panama-Pacific  International  Exposi- 
tion, San  Francisco,  1915.  Prominent  among  works  are  fountain,  "Bear  and 
Faun,"  Morningside  Park,  New  York. 

Wendt,  Julia  Bracken 

Born  Apple  River,  111.  Studied:  Chicago  Art  Institute.  Member:  Western 
Society  of  Artists;  Chicago  Society  of  Artists;  California  Art  Club;  Federation  of 
Arts,  Washington,  D.  C.  Honors:  First  sculpture  prize  offered  in  Chicago,  1898; 
first  sculpture  prize  given  by  Municipal  Art  League  of  Chicago,  1905;  first  prize 
for  sculpture  by  California  Art  Club,  1913;  gold  medal,  Panama-California  Expo- 
sition, San  Diego,  1915.  Works:  Statue  of  Illinois  welcoming  nations,  placed  after 
Columbian  Exposition  in  Springfield  capitol;  group  of  statuary  for  rotunda  of 
Museum  of  History,  Science,  and  Art,  Exposition  Park,  Los  Angeles. 

Wendt,  William 

Born  Germany,  1865.  Settled  in  Chicago,  1880.  Self-taught  in  art.  Mem- 
ber: American  National  Academy;  Society  of  Western  Artists;  Chicago  Society  of 
Artists;  California  Art  Club;  American  Federation  of  Arts.  Represented  in  the 
permanent  collections  of:  Art  Institute,  Chicago;  Friends  of  American  Art;  Cliff 
Dwellers,  Chicago;  National  Arts  Club,  New  York;  Dallas  Art  Association,  Dallas, 
Texas.  Honors:  Second  Yerkes  prize,  Chicago,  1893;  Young  fortnightly  prize, 
Chicago,  1897;  bronze  medal,  Pan-American  Exposition,  Buffalo,  1901;  Cahn  prize, 
A.  I.  C.,  1904;  silver  medal,  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  St.  Louis,  1904;  hon- 
orable mention,  Chicago  Society  of  Artists,  1905;  Kirchberger  prize,  Chicago 
Society  of  Artists,  1910;  honorable  mention,  Art  Institute,  Chicago,  1910;  Fine 
Arts  Building  prize,  Society  of  Western  Artists,  1912;  silver  medal,  Panama-Pacific 
International  Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915;  grand  prize,  Panama-California 
Exposition,  San  Diego,  1915. 

White,  Orrin  A. 

Born  Hanover,  111,  1882.  Exhibited  at:  Panama-Pacific  International  Expo- 
sition. Honor:  Silver  medal,  Panama-California  Exposition,  San  Diego,  1915. 

Wilke,  William  H. 

Born  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  1880.  Studied:  Mark  Hopkins  Institute,  San 
Francisco;  Paris,  with  Jean  Paul  Laurens  and  Jacques  Blanche.  Exhibited  at 
Panama-Pacific  International  Exposition. 

Wores,  Theodore 

Born  Hanover,  111.,  1882.  Exhibited  at:  Panama-Pacific  International 
Exposition.  Honor:  Silver  medal,  Panama-California  Exposition,  San  Diego,  1915. 

Yelland,  Raymond  D. 

Born  London,  England,  1848.  Spent  twenty-five  years  in  California.  Died 
Oakland,  Cal.,  1900.  Studied:  New  York  School  of  Design;  Paris,  with  Merson. 
Honorable  mention,  School  of  Design  and  offered  position  as  teacher.  Marine 
painter  and  art  educator.  Professor  at  Hopkins  Institute,  San  Francisco,  for 
twenty  years.  Many  famous  artists  were  his  pupils,  as  Alexander  Harrison,  Homer 
Davenport,  etc.  "Where  Sluggish  Tides  Creep  In,"  exhibited  in  Oakland  Library; 
"Cities  of  the  Golden  Gate,"  University  of  California;  "Sand  Dunes  at  Monterey," 
Hopkins  Art  Institute. 


INDEX  TO  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Plate 

ADAMS,  HERBERT  Number 
William  Cullen  Bryant   222 

AITKEN,  ROBERT 

Dancing  Bacchante   202 

North  and  South  Panels,  Fountain  of 

the  Earth   302 

East  and  West  Panels,  Fountain  of  the 

Earth    303 

The  Elements,  Court  of  the  Universe. .  312 

ATKINS,  ARTHUR 

St.  Cloud   34 

BAER,  WILLIAM  J. 

Primavera    118 

BANCROFT,  MILTON  HERBERT 

Art  Crowned  by  Time   281 

BARNHORN,  CLEMENT  J. 

Boy  Pan  with  Frog   246 

BEACH,  CHESTER 

Beyond    203 

BEAUX,  CECELIA 

Portrait   148 

BECKWITH,  CARROLL 

The  Nautilus   109 

BELLOWS,  GEORGE 

Portrait  of  Judge  Peter  B.  Olney   104 

BERGE,  EDWARD 

Muse  Finding  the  Head  of  Orpheus. . .  233 

The  Scalp   236 

Wild  Flower   245 

Boy  and  Frog   247 

BOONE,  CORA 

The  Blue  Mug  (water  color)   46 

BITTER,  KARL 

Signing  of  Louisiana  Purchase  Treaty.  219 

BORG,  CARL  OSCAR 

California  Landscape   63 

Point  Neuf,  Paris   260 

BORGLUM,  SOLON  H. 

Washington    238 

BORONDA,  LESTER  D. 

Adobe  Interior — Monterey   78 

BRANGWYN,  FRANK 

Air— The  Windmill   289 

Air— The  Hunters   290 

Earth — Dancing  the  Grapes   291 

Earth— The  Fruit  Pickers   292 

Fire — Primitive  Fire   293 

Fire — Industrial  Fire   294 

Water— The  Fountain   295 

Water— The  Net   296 


Plate 

BRAUN,  MAURICE  Number 
Southern  California  Hills   31 

BREMER,  ANNE  M. 

Isabella  (or  Despair)   4 

BREUER,  HENRY  JOSEPH 

Lake  Louise   2 

BROWN,  BENJAMIN  C. 

Harvest  by  the  Sea   59 

BRUSH,  GEORGE  deFOREST 

The  Potter   120 

BURGDORFF,  FERDINAND 

Temple  of  Nike  on  the  Acropolis  of 
Athens    16 

CADENASSO,  GUISEPPE 

Eucalypti    29 

CAHILL,  WILLIAM  V. 

The  Red  Book   44 

CALDER,  A.  STIRLING 

Star  Figure,  Court  of  the  Universe.  . .  .  304 
Nations  of  the  East  and  Nations  of  the 
West    313 

CARDINELL  VINCENT 

Palace  of  Fine  Arts   325 

CARLSEN,  EMIL 

O  Ye  of  Little  Faith   74 

CHASE,  WILLIAM  M. 

Self  Portrait   133 

COOPER,  COLIN  CAMPBELL 

Fifth  Avenue,  New  York   110 

CUMMINGS,  EARL 

Enchantment   213 

CUNEO,  RINALDO 

The  Bridge   64 

DAGGETT,  MAUD 

Wall  Fountain   210 

DALLIN,  CYRUS  E. 

The  Scout   240 

DAVIES,  ARTHUR  B. 

Under  the  Bough   112 

de  CAMP,  JOSEPH 

Portrait  of  Frank  Duveneck  "..  139 

DEL  MUE,  MAUBICE 

Late  Afternoon  in  the  Sierras   39 

DeJONG,  BETTY 

Portrait  of  Isabel  P   3 

DICKMAN,  CHARLES  JOHN 

Picardy  Fisher  Folk   67 


180 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Plate 


DIXON,  MAYNARD  Number 
What  an  Indian  Thinks   18 

DODGE,  WILLIAM  de  LEFTWICH 

Atlantic  and  the  Pacific   282 

Gateway  of  All  Nations   283 

DU  MOND,  FRANK  VINCENT 

The  Arrival  on  the  Pacific  Coast   288 

DUNLAP,  HELENA 

The  Veranda  Table   25 

DUVENECK,  FRANK 

Woman  with  Forget- Me-Nots   137 

EDMOND,  ELIZA RETH 

Woman  with  Rabbit   212 

FLANAGAN,  JOHN 

The  Priest:  Tower  of  Jewels   316 

FORTUNE,  E.  CHARLTON 

The  Pool   41 

FRASER,  JAMES  EARL 

Flora  and  Sonny- Roy  Whitney  224 

The  End  of  the  Trail   308 

FRENCH, DANIEL  CHESTER 

The  Genius  of  Creation   218 

FRIESEKE,  FREDERIC  CARL 

Summer    117 

FRISHMUTH,  HARRIET  W. 

The  Girl  with  the  Dolphin   248 

FROELICH,  MAREN  M. 

The  Chinese  Robe   11 

GAMRLE,  JOHN  M. 

Wild  Mustard   68 

GARRER,  DANIEL 

Quarry:  Evening   128 

GRAFLY,  CHARLES 

Pioneer  Mother  Monument   217 

GRAY,  PERCY 

Live  Oaks  of  California  (water  color) .  48 

GREENRAUM,  JOSEPH 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  A   17 

GRIFFIN,  WALTER 

Valley  of  the  Essonne,  France   115 

GROLL,  ALRERT  L. 

Peace;  Hopiland   144 

GUERIN,  JULES 

Entrance  to  the  Seraglio   101 

HAILMAN,  JOHANNA  K.  W. 

To  Market  in  the  West  Indies   141 

HALE,  PHILIP  LESLffi 

Woman  with  Roses   143 

HAMILTON,  JOHN  McLURE 

Mother    145 

HANSEN,  ARMIN 

Off  for  the  Night  Catch   66 

Laid  Up   258 


Plate 


HARRISON,  ALEXANDER  Number 
The  Joy  of  Life   119 

HARRISON,  RIRGE 

White  Wings   121 

HARTMAN,  C.  RERTRAM 

Autumn    114 

HASKELL,  ERNEST 

General    Sherman,    Sequoia  National 
Park    266 

HASSAM,  CHILDE 

The  Yachts,  Gloucester  Harbor   129 

Fruits  and  Flowers   284 

HERKOMER,  HERMAN  G. 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Francis  Carolan   21 

HINKLE,  CLARENCE  K. 

A  Portrait   15 

HO  R ART,  CLARK 

Portrait  of  Madame  D   13 

The  Lady  Guinivere   257 

HOLLOWAY,  CHARLES  W. 

The  Pursuit  of  Pleasure   285 

HOLM,  VICTOR  S. 

Prima  Mater   226 

HUNTER,  ISAREL 

A  Street  in  Monterey   26 

HYDE,  HELEN 

Rainy  Night   269 

JAQUES,  RERTHA 

The  Arch,  Rome   267 

JELLINEK,  DR.  EMIL  O. 

Fountain  of  the  Earth   381 

Reauty  and  the  Reast   315 

Rotunda,  Palace  of  Fine  Arts   317 

Vista;   Colonnade   318 

Central  Dome  of  Palace  of  Fine  Arts. .  319 

Rotunda,  Main  Arch   320 

Portion  of  Crescent   321 

Vista;  Rotunda,  Palace  of  Fine  Arts..  322 
Rotunda  and  Hedge,  Palace  of  Fine 

Arts    323 

Colonnade,  Entrance  Court  to  Cres- 
cent   324 

An  Archway  of  the  Rotunda   326 

Central  Dome,  Palace  of  Fine  Arts...  327 
The  Tower  of  Ages,  Court  of  Abun- 
dance   328 

Vista;  Court  of  Abundance   330 

Court  of  Palms  and  Sunken  Pool   329 

South  Portal,  Palace  of  Liberal  Arts..  331 
Section  of  Inner  Dome,  Palace  of  Fine 
Arts    332 

JOHANSEN,  JOHN  C. 

The  Rider   103 

JOHNSON,  CAROLINE  RIXFORD 

Margaret   12 

JOULLIN,  AMADEE 

The  Weaver   51 

JUDSON,  C.  CHAPEL 

Monterey  Ray   54 


INDEX    TO  ILLUSTRATIONS 


181 


Plate 

KEITH,  WILLIAM  Number 

Evening  Glow   47 

Symphony  of  Peace   82 

Revelation    83 

Spirit  of  Music   84 

KENDALL,  SERGEANT 

Phantasmata    142 

KONTI,  ISIDORE 

Wood  Nymph   221 

Friezes  at  Base  of  Column  of  Prog- 
ress  306-307 

LAESSLE,  ALBERT 

The  Bronze  Turkey   229 

LATIMER,  LORENZO  P. 

West  Angora  Peak,  Lake  Tahoe   22 

LAWSON,  ERNEST 

Hudson  River  and  Palisades   Ill 

LEMOS,  PEDRO  J. 

Fishing  Day   250 

LENTELLI,  LEO 

Nations  of  the  East  and  Nations  of 
the  West   313 

LEVER,  HAYLEY 

St.  Ives  Fishing  Boats   132 

LEVY,  WILLIAM  AUERBACH 

The  New  Talmud   265 

LONGMAN,  EVELYN  BEATRICE 

L' Amour    230 

LUNDBORG,  FLORENCE 

Stone  Pines   6 

LUNGREN,  FERN AND 

The  Abyss   10 

MACKY,  E.  SPENCER 

Mother  and  Child   7 

MacLAUGHLAN,  DONALD  SHAW 

Lauterbrunnen,  Switzerland   270 

MacNEIL,  HERMON  A. 

The  Adventurous  Bowman,  Column  of 
Progress    305 

MANNHEIM,  JEAN 

Whispering  Love   14 

MANSHIP,  PAUL 

Centaur  and  Dryad   231 

MARIN,  JOHN 

Pitch  Pine,  Casco  Bay   116 

MARTINEZ,  XAVIER 

The  Bridge   62 

MATHEWS,  ARTHUR  F. 

The  Ghost  Story   1 

MATHEWS,  LUCIA  K. 

Monterey  Oak   57 

McCOMAS,  FRANCIS 

City  of  the  Desert   33 


Plate 


McCORMICK,  M.  EVELYN  Number 
Old  Convent,  Monterey   53 

McQUARRIE,  J. 

Traumerei    209 

MERSFELDER,  JULES 

Le  Conte  Oak   61 

MELCHERS,  GARI 

Maternity    122 

METCALF,  WILLARD  L. 

Winter's  Festival   131 

MILLER,  RICHARD  E. 

Nude    140 

MORA,  JOSEPH  J. 

Poppy  Nymph   205 

MORGAN,  M.  DeNEALE 

Cypress  Trees  (water  color)   73 

MULLGARDT,  LOUIS  CHRISTIAN 

Carmel  Mission  (lithograph)   249 

NAHL,  PERHAM 

Despair    70 

NELSON,  BRUCE 

A  Marine   40 

NEUHAUS,  EUGEN 

Point  Joe,  Monterey   55 

NOUQUET,  PAUL 

The  Soldier  of  Marathon   232 

PADDOCK,  JOSEPHINE 

Miss  M.  and  a  Parrot   108 

PAGES,  JULES 

On  the  Quais:  Paris   38 

PARKER,  LAWTON  S. 

Paresse    123 

PARSONS,  EDITH  BARRETTO 

Duck  Baby   241 

PARTINGTON,  GERTRUDE 

Court  of  the  Ages,  P.-P.  I.  E   253 

PATIGIAN,  HAIG 

Apollo  Hunting   206 

PAXTON,  WILLIAM  McGREGOR 

The  Housemaid   135 

PEARSON,  JR.,  JOSEPH  T. 

Fox  and  Geese   105 

PECK,  ORRIN 

Portrait  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Randolph 
Walker  Apperson   36 

PENNELL,  JOSEPH 

The    Half    Dome,    Yosemite  Valley 
(lithograph)    262 

PENNOYER,  A.  SHELDON 

The  Old  Red  Barn   45 

PERCY,  ISABELLE  C. 

Granada,  Spain   255 


182 


ART    IN  CALIFORNIA 


Plate 

PETERS,  CHARLES  ROLLO  Number 
The  Oregon   52 

PEIXOTTO,  ERNEST 

The  Pool,  La  Granja   76 

PIAZZONI,  GOTTARDO  F.  P. 

Lux  Eternae   37 

At  Green  Brae   251 

PIETRO,  C.  S. 

The  Mother  of  the  Dead   234 

PICCIRILLI,  ATTILIO 

The  Outcast   228 

PICCIRILLI,  FURIO 

Spring    310 

Summer    310 

Autumn    311 

Winter    311 

PLOWMAN,  GEORGE  T. 

Notre  Dame,  Paris   268 

POOR,  HENRY  VARNUM 

Portrait  of  Miss  D   20 

PORTER,  BRUCE 

Presidio  Cliffs   65 

PRATT,  BELA  L. 

Young  Mother   223 

A  Boy  with  Fish   243 

PRICE,  C.  S. 

On  the  Range   69 

PROCTOR,  A.  PHIMISTER 

American  Bison   239 

PUTHUFF,  HANSEN 

Majestic  Oaks   56 

PUTNAM,  ARTHUR 

Puma    201 

RAND,  ELLEN  EMMET 

In  the  Studio   134 

RANDOLPH,  LEE  F. 

The  Algerian  Woman   79 

Monterey  Cypress   259 

RAPHAEL,  JOSEPH 

Breakfast  in  the  Arbor   36 

On  the  Canal   256 

REDFIELD,  EDWARD  W. 

The  Hills  and  River   124 

REDMOND,  GRANVILLE 

Late  Afternoon   43 

REID,  ROBERT 

The  Japanese  Screen   102 

Ideals  in  Art   286 

RICH,  JOHN  HUBBARD 

The  Blue  Kimona   30 

RICHARDSON,  MARY  CURTIS 

The  Young  Mother   49 

RIEBER,  WINIFRED 

A  Portrait   77 


Plate 

RITSCHEL,  WILLIAM  Number 
A  Marine   75 

RITTMAN,  LOUIS 

Dejeuner    106 

ROSE,  GUY 

Hot  Afternoon   5 

ROSENTHAL,  TOBY 

The  Cardinal's  Portrait   72 

ROTH,  ERNEST  D. 

Or  Michele,  Florence   263 

ROTH,  FREDERICK  G.  R. 

The  Butcher,  the  Baker,  the  Candle- 

stickmaker    237 

Nations  of  the  East  and  Nations  of 

the  West   313 

RYDER,  WORTH 

Seven  Solitudes   252 

SANDONA,  MATTEO 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Lentelli   8 

SAINT  GAUDENS,  AUGUSTUS 

Seated  Lincoln   225 

SARGEANT,  GENEVE  RIXFORD 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  W   27 

SARGENT,  JOHN  SINGER 

Nude  Study   127 

SCHOFIELD,  W.  ELMER 

Waterfall    130 

SCUDDER,  JANET 

Young  Pan   242 

SCHUSTER,  DONNA 

Educational  Fountain  and  Dome  of 
Fine  Arts  Palace  (water  color)   24 

SIMMONS,  EDWARD 

Visions  of  Exploration   287 

SHORE,  HENRIETTA  M. 

Little  Girls   9 

SMITH,  J.  ANDRE 

Abbeville    271 

SPARKS,  WILL 

Late  Afternoon,  Mexico   80 

STACKPOLE,  RALPH 

Head  of  Louis  Sloss,  Jr   207 

STANTON,  JOHN  A. 

A  California  Seaside  Resort   71 

STETSON,  CHARLES  WALTER 

Bather    125 

TAFT,  LORADO 

Fragment  of  the  Fountain  of  Time . .  .  235 

TARBELL,  EDMUND  C. 

The  Dreamer   147 

TILDEN,  DOUGLAS 

Mechanics'  Fountain   211 

TOWNSLEY,  C.  P. 

Reflections    19 


INDEX    TO  ILLUSTRATIONS 


183 


Plate 

TWACHTMAN,  JOHN  H.  Number 
Mother  and  Child   138 

VAN  SLOUN,  FRANK  J. 

Portrait  of  An  Actor   28 

VONNOH,  ROBERT 

Portrait;  Daniel  Chester  French   136 

VIVIAN,  CALTHEA 

From  the  Meadows:  Morct,  France....  58 

WACHTEL,  ELMER 

Snowy  Solitude   60 

WACHTEL,  MARION  KAVANAGH 

Eucalyptus  and  Clouds  (water  color) .  23 

WAGNER,  ROB 

Portrait  of  Stuart  Edward  White   32 

WALTER,  EDGAR 

Arcadia    204 

WASHBURN,  CADWALLADER 

Palace  of  Fine  Arts  and  Colonnade 
(Drypoint)    272 

WAUGH,  FREDERICK  J. 

Coming  of  the  Line  Storm   107 


Plate 


WEBSTER,  HERMAN  A.  Number 
La  Maison  Meline:  Paris   264 

WENDT,  JULIA  BRACKEN 

The  Nymph   208 

WENDT,  WILLIAM 

The  Land  of  Heart's  Desire   50 

WHITE,  ORRIN  A. 

Sierra  Snows   81 

WHITNEY,  GERTRUDE  VANDERBILT 

Fountain  of  El  Dorado   314 

WILKE,  WILLIAM  H. 

Toward  the  Bay   254 

WEINMAN,  ADOLPH  A. 

Lectern  for  Clark  Memorial  Chapel .  .  .  220 
Fountain  of  the  Setting  Sun   309 

WHISTLER,  JAMES  McNEILL 

Portrait:  Mrs.  Huth   126 

The  Beggars   261 

WOODBUBY,  CHARLES  H. 

Ten  Panels  of  the  Sea,  No.  Ill   113 

WORES,  THEODORE 

A  Potter  of  the  Pueblo   42 


WARD,  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  


227 


YARROW,  WILLIAM  H.  K. 
The  Checkered  Dress... 


146 


INDEX  TO  CONTRIBUTORS 


Plate 

ALLIOT,  HECTOR  Number 
Primitive  Art  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia   47-50 

ANDERSON,  ANTONY 

Six  Landscape  Painters  of  South- 
ern California   65-  70 

C ALDER,  A.  STIRLING 

Art  Is  Praise  and  All  Things  in 

Life  Are  Its  Subjects   145-159 

CLARK,  A.  B. 

Art  Ideals  in  California  Univer- 
sities   94-96 

COOK,  ALMA  MAY 

What  Art  Means  to  California....    71-  76 

GARNETT,  PORTER 

California's  Place  in  Art   39-  46 

HAMILTON,  JOHN  McLURE 

The  Exposition,  An  Expression  of 

Artistic  Power   92-93 

HARSHE,  ROBERT  B. 

The  California  Society  of  Etchers.  116-120 
The  Oakland  Public  Museum   103-104 

LEMOS,  PEDRO  J. 

California  and  Its  Etchers;  What 
They  Mean  to  Each  Other   113-115 

MAXWELL,  EVERETT  C. 

Structure  of  Western  Art   33-37 

MAYBECK,  BERNARD  R. 

The  Architecture  of  the  Palace  of 
Fine  Arts  at  the  Panama-Pacific 
International  Exposition   159-162 


Plate 

McLAREN,  JOHN  Xumber 
California's  Opportunities  in  Ar- 
tistic  Landscaping   139-142 

MULLGARDT,  LOUIS  CHRISTIAN 

Architecture  of  the  Panama-Pacific 

International  Exposition   151-158 

POLK,  WILLIS 

A  Brilliant  Future  for  American 
Art    77-78 

PORTER,  BRUCE 

The  Beginning  of  Art  in  Cali- 
fornia   21-32 

SEABES,  MABEL  URMY 

William  Keith  and  His  Times   105-110 

TOLERTON,  HILL 

Etching  and  Etchers   121-126 

TRASK,  JOHN  E.  D. 

The  Department  of  Fine  Arts  at 
the  Panama-Pacific  International 
Exposition    81-  91 

WALTER,  JOHN  U. 

The  San  Francisco  Art  Associa- 
tion   97-101 

WILLIAMS,  MICHAEL 

Pageant  of  California  Art   51-62 


WRIGHT,  HAMILTON  M. 

Mural  Decorations  at  the  Panama- 
Pacific  International  Exposition.  129-138 


FOR  THIS  BOOK,  PUBLISHED  BY  R.  L.  BERNIER 
IN  THE  MONTH  OF  MARCH  AND  YEAR  NINETEEN 
HUNDRED  AND  SIXTEEN,  THE  PROCESS  EN- 
GRAVINGS HAVE  BEEN  MADE  BY  THE  SIERRA 
ART  AND  ENGRAVING  COMPANY,  THE  COM- 
POSITION HAS  BEEN  DONE  BY  THE  WILLIAMS 
PRINTING  COMPANY,  THE  PRESSWORK  BY  THE 
INDEPENDENT  PRESSROOM,  AND  THE  BINDING 
BY  THE  HICKS-JUDD  COMPANY,  ALL  OF  THE 
CITY  OF  SAN  FBANCISCO,  IN  THE  STATE  OF 
CALIFORNIA 


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